


The Temporary Antidote of Writing

by merrybughead



Category: Riverdale - Fandom, bughead - Fandom
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Slow Burn, True Love, bughead - Freeform, bughead au, long journey, they're up for it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-03-26 18:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 29
Words: 67,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13863780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrybughead/pseuds/merrybughead
Summary: STORY HAS BEEN RETIRED. Both Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones are into literature and find it as a remedy for the feelings they have stored inside of them. Betty is hoping to be leaving all the complications that came with Riverdale like her pressuring mother and horrid memories of that god-awful town. Jughead Jones, a writer, is dealing with trying to leave behind his family when that becomes a very difficult situation. His sister was left behind in the mess and he can't think straight knowing what might happen to her. Jughead Jones finds it hard to trust people while Betty too easily does which causes problems. Will they cross paths? Will they be each other's antidotes?





	1. The Exasperation of Pain

“Forsythe, the next two chapters should be finished by tomorrow morning. How long are you staying in for tonight?” Claudia, the middle-aged secretary at Jughead’s NYU office, said while tapping on his desk sending Jughead out of his writing trance.

“Jughead, Claudia. Please call me Jughead,” Jughead’s eyes moved up to Claudia who was leaning on his desk. Jughead liked his personal space, he wasn't much of a open person.

Jughead sighed, “I’ll probably be in here until eleven o’clock. I still have a half chapter to write.” It was already nine o’clock and Jughead had a lot of work to get done. Claudia started to peer over to his work on his laptop and he closed his laptop. He exhaled loudly and rubbed his eyes. After glancing at the clock he groaned and furrowed his brows.

“Tired already?” Claudia asked.

“I’m just going to get a cup of water,” Jughead said shaking his hand, dismissing Claudia’s interrogation. Her intentions were always pure, but Jughead wasn’t much for conversation. He spent most of his time avoiding people and typing.

As Jughead started to pour some water, his back pocket of his black jeans started vibrating. “Shit,” Jughead mumbled under his breath as he scrambled around his flannel that was covering his pocket as he attempted to answer the call.

As he read the name he closed his eyes imagining what this upcoming conversation would be about. Jughead put his phone to his ear. “Hey Jellybean, what’s up?”

When he didn’t hear a response, he immediately sensed the tears that were filling her eyes making her paralyzed with overwhelming anguish. “Jellybean…”

Jellybean snapped back into reality and wiped the tear dripping from her eye. “I just wanted to let you know Mom-Mom...decided to go to someplace to meet a god-awful guy. I-I’m fine with dad I guess…” As Jellybean rambled on Jughead placed his water down and his fingers started to trace the familiar crimson crescents on his palms. Without realization he started to dig into his finger until he felt a sudden sting and immediately released his hands. Blood was drawn.

“Jellybean...Are you sure you-you’re fine with dad? I don’t know if he’s going to be stable enough on his own...Remember you can always move with me here. I can afford it you know,” Jughead sarcastically said attempting to lighten the dreary conversation.

Jellybean gave out a desperate chuckle, tears were evident. “Jug, you know I can’t leave my school and friends-” Jelly Bean was talking until Jughead interrupted her.

Jughead heard a beer bottle shatter into piece on the ground. “-Jellybean, you can leave that shit! God, please leave that damn hell hole!”

“Jughead, I can’t. I’m sorry...I-I have to go,” Jellybean ignored his futile begs.

Jellybean was always the type of person to try and fix everything. Jughead was like that before he realized that everything couldn’t be fixed no matter how hard he tried. He was worried Jellybean was headed down into his path to become someone who doesn’t live on emotions. Jughead was an independent person who was also very closed off. His emotions were mainly solitude and annoyance from little interactions. He didn’t want his younger sister to live like that. Especially in her high school years, for god's sake she’s a freshman and her life was just starting.

“Fuck,” Jughead loudly said while moving his phone in front of his eyes to verify that she did hang up on him. He started texting while knowing it was useless,

_Jellybean, I am begging you to help yourself by coming to New York with me. You could make a hundred more friends and the schools are a lot better here. There’s no family drama here and you could live with me-which might sound like a mess, but I’m an adult now. I don’t want you to live with dad alone. You know all that Jason Blossom stuff is going on and you don’t even know if he’s safe. You need a stable adult to be caring for you and I can’t be the protective brother I want to be knowing that you aren’t with a stable adult. Mom and dad were barely enough and I need you to make the right decision. Stay with me. Just say the word and I’ll buy you a ticket, please Jellybean. It won’t be a problem for me._

Of course there was no reply to his text. Jughead stormed back to his desk and slammed the desk with his fist. He sat in his chair and brushed his hands through his hair. He held his hands into fists before shaking his head in consciousness of what he was doing. He heard a knock at his door.

“Everything alright Forsythe?” Claudia should have known better, but to ask Jughead Jones if he was alright.

Jughead shot his head up and laughed. “Sure. Everything’s great,” He said as he threw his hands in the air.

“I mean I just wanted to make sure you were still up to-”

“Write those chapters by tomorrow morning. Claudia, your shift ended twenty minutes ago. You can leave. You don’t have to sweet talk me because I feel like shit,” Jughead said sternly while standing up motioning her to close his door and leave.

Jughead sighed loudly as he went to sit back down.

He really didn’t mean to put everything onto her, but he had to admit she was annoying. She was there to manage his work and finances, but her attempts to be nice were always turned down because of the life Jughead lived in. Who could blame him? Sometimes his life was hell.

Jughead opened up his laptop and then turned his hands around to see his palms. Fresh cuts and scars, his favorite. He turned them back around and went back to start typing his story again. He felt like he had indefinite writer’s block. As his fingers fidgeted lightly on his keys, his mind couldn’t stop racing back to the call. He definitely heard a bottle break and then she had to go. He cracked his fingers and started to read what he had already wrote. Eventually he was able to get back to slowly typing, at least he was typing.

After he finished the chapter, it was eleven forty five pm. He grabbed his phone and saw a text message. “Shit,” He mumbled while reading the text.

_Bro are we no hanging out?_

_Hello?_

_Jughead, are you ghosting me right now?_

_Are you coming over or not?_

Jughead clicked on Archie’s name while mumbling curse words.

“What the hell man?” Archie immediately said five seconds into the call.

“Sorry,” Jughead started to trace the crimson crescents again, “It’s just...Nothing. Got caught up with work.”

“Oh,” Archie’s brows furrowed sensing that it was more than work that kept him so long. “Still wanna hang?”

“Ha,” Jughead chuckled, “I would kill to forget about tonight. I’ll be over in fifteen.”

\--------

“Betty are you sure you want to work in New York? Riverdale has a great writing center,” ALice said with sad eyes.

“Mom, I’ll be fine in New York. I’ve always wanted to live there and being able to teach at the NYU Writing Center, that’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Betty chuckled with a sparkle in her eyes.

“I know honey, it’s just so far from here,” Alice cocked her head to the side while smiling.

“I know and I’ll be coming to visit once a month, that’s a pretty generous from the writing center…” Betty said grabbing some boxes to take downstairs with Alice following.

Alice took the box from Betty and went to the garage to place it into the trunk. “There’s only a few left which means there’s only a small amount of time to take your decision back…”

Betty chuckled, “Mom, I’m going.” She shrugged happily, “It’s all I’ve wanted to do since I was little.”

“As long as you make me proud,” Alice said with a taunting smile.

Betty’s brows furrowed as her smile slowly dropped, “I will?”

“I know I know, I just don’t want anything to happen to you like Polly. She wanted freedom too,” Alice said with a shrug.

Betty felt her hands slowly ball into fists. She closed her eyes, trying to control herself, but her hands started to dig into the crimson crescents that were already formed on her hands. “I-I’m not like her,” Betty tried to remind her.

“I know sweetie,” She sighed, “I just hope you don’t do anything to send yourself into a path…” Betty’s mom went on and on for ten minutes discussing how disappointed she was at her daughter Polly and how scared she was that Betty would turn into a mess as well. Betty didn’t hear anything after her first sentence because it all became white noise. Betty was just watching her mother’s mouth move while she didn’t hear anything. Her thoughts were taking over herself and so was her anger. What snapped her back was Alice closing the trunk of her car. Betty shook her head to see Alice walking back into the house.

Then she felt something on her hands. She slowly retrieved her fingers from her palms and as she pulled her fingers back she saw blood dripping down them. Just her luck. She walked back into the house.

Betty went to the sink and washed her hands while fighting back the urge to just storm out of the house and cry. She exhaled slowly and dried her hands off. “Mom, I’m going to be fine. I will be responsible-”

“And no distractions. You don’t need sex or a boyfriend or-”

“Oh my god Mom,” Betty shook her head not believing her mom had the audacity to tell her to watch her love life. “I’m going to be fine. Goodbye,” Betty went in for a quick hug ignoring the feeling in her gut. As she turned around, Alice grabbed her arm pulling Betty back to face her.

Out of her pocket, she ADHD and anxiety pills and placed them into her hand. “Seems you forgot you need these even if you leave me,” Alice said dismissively. Betty gave a small smile while she went back to her car door. Betty waved goodbye to her mother and was blinking back tears.

Betty pulled up to Pop’s for one last milkshake. Once Betty walked in, she saw her best friend Veronica Lodge waiting for her as if Veronica knew she was coming.

“I knew you would want a last milkshake and I figured a good last memory of this place would be with me,” Veronica smiled.

Betty chuckled, “I’m going to miss you so much V,” Betty said slightly teary eyed. What Veronica didn’t know is that she wasn’t the only one ahold of Betty’s emotions right now.

Veronica hugged Betty, “Hey hey hey, we’re still going to facetime everyday from eight to nine and you’re coming to visit every month. Plus, I’m obviously coming to visit my best friend who lives in my favorite city. Imagine the shopping B, oh my god you’re going to love it there!’’

Betty sniffled and ran her fingers under her eyes catching the newly shed tears. “I know,” She stiffly laughed, “I can’t wait to start work next week and unpack my stuff tonight. The apartment is on Lafayette Street, it’s called Avalon Bowery Place, and it’s super nice. I’ll facetime you once I get there and give you a tour. Maybe I can visit the bookstore next week. I’ve heard there’s a author who has an office on my street. I can’t wait V!”

“I’m so proud of you B,” Veronica said while grabbing the milkshakes from Pop. Veronica worded thank you to him while she continued speaking, “Regardless of what anyone says. Getting into the teaching program at NYU Writing Center, oh my god!”

Betty smiled uneasily thinking of how her mother said similar words with completely different intentions than Veronica. She traced her nails on the crimson crescents and lightly pressed while talking to Veronica.

Eventually Betty and Veronica said their goodbyes and Betty departed. Betty would soon be in a completely different world than Riverdale.


	2. Trying For A Change

Betty had finally went to her car to get her last box. As she walked through the lobby, the worker kindly offered to take her bag, seeing how hard she had worked to move all her stuff. 

“Thank you so much for carrying the box for me,” Betty warmly said as they entered the elevator.

“Of course. My name’s Toni Topaz by the way,” She kindly gestured. “So what are you moving here for?”

Betty glanced over to Toni, “I’m actually moving here to teach at the Writing Center.”

“That’s so cool, when I’m not working or working on school, I go to learn there,” Toni said while smiling.

“Toni, right?” Betty looked to see Toni nod, “My name’s Betty Cooper.”

The elevator dinged as they hit her floor and the doors opened. As Toni handed Betty the box she said, “If you ever need a tour, help, or a friend I’m here.”

“Sure! My hands are full, but I can give you my number to text,” Betty chuckled.

Betty and Toni exchanged numbers and Betty went to unload her box. She was excited to make a new friend in such a short amount of time even if Toni was just trying being friendly, Betty appreciated it.

Betty plopped down onto her couch and grabbed her iPad. She went to facetime and clicked on her recents, of course Veronica’s name filled the screen.

“B, hey! What’s the apartment look like?” Veronica said with a huge smile.

Betty walked around showing her every square foot of her apartment room. Then Betty and Veronica transitioned to a call on their phones while Betty found a nearby Starbucks to buy a coffee. After all, it was going to be a long night trying to place as much of her stuff out as possible. 

When Betty reached back home, Veronica had to go because of some party and Betty opened her messages to see a text from her new friend,

_ Now that I’m thinking about it, my shift ends in thirty and I could help you unpack if you want. We could chill and I’m hoping watch netflix after because who doesn’t love Stranger Things? I hope I don’t sound like a stalker lol, I am honestly searching for a new best friend. _

_ Yeah, room 47. I hope you bring snacks because I need to go grocery shopping lol. _

After about thirty minutes of anticipation, Betty’s new friend knocked on her door with a bag of snacks and water. “Hey Toni,” Betty said moving her hand gesturing to come inside her apartment.

“I didn’t realize until you texted me, but our rooms our right next to each other’s,” Toni laughed.

Betty smiled, “Oh my god, that’s so cool! We have no excuse, but to hang out now.”

As Toni went over to Betty’s boxes she said, “I know you’ve been here for a total of like two hours, but how do the men compare to the town you were living in?”

Betty immediately started to ball her fingers into fists remembering all her mother had said, but reluctantly stopped herself from drawing blood when she smiled. “Oh, I’m not really looking for a boyfriend,” Betty grabbed a box and started to unpack the decor. 

“What?” Toni asked with a high pitched voice, “How old are you?”

Betty chuckled, “I’m twenty-six.”

“Okay same, I swear we have this really weird connection,” Toni laughed and then got serious, “Why doesn’t a pretty twenty-six year old want to have any fun?”

“I don’t know. I’m not really into dating,” Betty said shyly.

“Some guy’s gonna steal your heart Betty, I’m telling you. But you have to meet my boyfriend Sweet Pea,” Toni smiled to see the look of perplexity Betty had, “Just his nickname, I swear.”

Betty chuckled as Toni handed her the next piece of home decor. It was a pink heart dish for snacks. She placed it on the table that was next to the couch.

“Is pastel your thing? You have a lot of pink. I love the vibes...Hence the hair,” Toni smiled while pointing to her brown hair that had streaks of pink.

“Oh yeah,” Betty said starting to think about all the influence her mom had on her color choice. Her nails started to dig and she didn’t even feel the sting until Toni brought her back into reality.

“Oh my god, your hands. Are they okay? What happened?”

Sorry I think I cut them on the box and didn’t realize,” Betty lied.

“You should wash them, did anything get blood on it?”

Betty looked around as if she didn’t know when the blood started to drip as she walked to the sink. “I think we’re all good,” Betty said when she turned on the sink.

“Well anyways, what do you want to unpack next?”

Betty picked up her box full of clothes and Toni followed her to Betty’s room. It already felt like her room because of the pink blanket Betty had spread out onto her bed and the white lights Betty had already placed around the perimeter of her room.

She dumped the clothes from the box and Toni went to grab the hangers from the closet. As Betty started to hang up each clothing item, memories of her mother filled her head. Toni could tell something was off about Betty. She thought maybe Betty was trying to change out here in New York and didn’t want memories of her past. 

“Hey do you want to go to American Eagle and Aerie? They are both having sales and I just went shopping there earlier, a lot of the stores are having their summer semi-annual sales,” Toni offered almost reading Betty’s mind perfectly.

Betty smiled graciously, “Yeah! Cab or walking?”

Toni and Betty had small conversation about work and literature while taking a cab to American Eagle. There was a giant one a couple streets away from the Avalon Bowery Apartments, but in New York, most people take cabs. Once they entered the store Betty looked lost.

“So what kind of look do you wanna wear?” Toni asked with a sly smile on her face, anticipating the best shopping trip she’s ever been on.

“Whatever’s popular right now,” Betty smiled back cocking her head to the side.

_ So this was what New York is like, _

Betty thought. The temptations oh shopping were a lot bigger. Betty didn’t usually treat herself to much, so she decided one shopping spree wouldn’t be that bad.

Betty walked out with three bags from American Eagle. Betty had bought four pairs of high waisted jeans; one pair being navy blue, pink, light blue, and ripped navy-blue. She also got like twelve different tops, some with bell-sleeves, some that were cropped, and some with no shoulders. There was a sale that was buy to get two free so in Betty’s defense she originally was just going to get six shirts, but the sale definitely helped Betty in her favor. Toni also forced Betty to buy a cute pair of sunglasses. Betty also purchased a denim jacket that Toni had originally recommended. For some reason Betty found the jacket comforting, almost like it was  one of those “I stole it from my boyfriend’ type of jackets. Later, Toni and Betty hung up and put away Betty’s new clothing. Betty felt a lot more confident with her new clothes, they were almost forcing her to say “I’m strong and have changed for the better.” Betty felt a little bit better about herself.

\--------

“So…” Archie started to say, taking Jughead’s conversation off the video game.

“What?” Jughead asked trying to see what Archie was hesitant to talk about.

“How’s Jellybean?” Archie asked trying to seem as casual as possible.

Jughead was taken back by this question. His brows furrowed as his fingers trailed the all too familiar scars. “J-Jellybean?” His body felt like it was burning. He felt instant guilt about not just flying back to his hometown and getting Jellybean himself. He had all these mixed emotions inside of him and they were starting to press his fingers against his palms, but Archie snapped Jughead back into reality.

“Jughead!” Archie said in a loud voice.

“What-What about Jellybean?” Jughead’s voice cracked as he pushed the tears back down that his eyes were swelling with, not letting a single one escape.

“I don’t know, just in general how she’s doing with your dad and mom,” Achie innocently stated.

“I don’t know, I’m trying to get her to move here, but she-Ah,” Jughead interrupted himself wincing in pain, not realizing how hard he was clenching his hands. 

Archie quickly saw that Jughead had once again started his old habit. This was something Archie never spoke about with Jughead although this was not the first time he had watched Jughead do this to himself. Archie quickly grabbed a tissue from the coffee table that was in front of the couch.

Jughead quickly wiped his hands and stuttered, “I-I’m going to go to the bathroom.” Jughead quickly walked over to the small bathroom and turned on the faucet. As he watched the water draw, he began to see the blood mix as it hit the sink. He cringed thinking about the blood. For someone who often experienced this sight, he still felt uneasy about the blood.

“Damn it,” Jughead mumbled while he kicked the ground with the tip of his shoe. He had told himself he was going to stop hurting himself like that. He hated to see himself hurting his own body, but he felt like that was the only way to deal with his pain sometimes. He wasn’t the type of person to deal his problems onto someone, he actually hated that idea seeing how it broke his own family.

As Jughead exited the bathroom Archie was playing a video game while deciding if he was going to actually pry answers out of him. Archie glanced over to Jughead while handing Jughead his controller. “Since you don’t have any work this weekend, wanna fly Jellybean over? We could try and convince her to stay,” Archie offered with a slight  smile becoming more apparent. 

Jughead looked at Archie with wide eyes, “Archie what if it doesn’t work?”

“Then we’ll have a great weekend,” Archie chuckled, “Lemme call her.”

“I’m pretty sure she has a crush on you,” Jughead laughed as he grabbed his phone and dialed her number.

“Jughead, what’s up?” Jellybean said slightly mocking how Jughead kept asking her for updates on her life.

“Oh hey,” Archie chuckled, “It’s actually Archie.”

Jellybean nervously laughed, “Sorry I thought you were Jug, what’s up with you Archie?”

Archie smiled to Jughead, “I was curious if you wanted to fly into New York and hang with us for the weekend. Maybe you’ll want to stay.”

Jellybean’s smile was radiant, she felt like a basic high schooler. “Sure, when?”

Jughead laughed, “When you’re done flirting with Archie”

“Jughead!” Jellybean practically screamed across the phone. “I’ll pack my bags, but seriously when?”

Jughead was already on his laptop purchasing the ticket. “Tomorrow morning you’ll fly in. The flight is at seven o’clock and you’ll arrive around twelve. Archie and I will pick you up from the airport. I’ll send you the info now.”

Jellybean giggled, “Okay see you guys tomorrow.”

They ended the call and for once Jughead didn’t feel as stressed as per usual. 

“Thank you Archie,” Jughead sighed.

“No problem bro,” Archie smiled.

“Seriously, I really appreciate it.”

Before Archie could respond with a sincere comment, Jughead’s phone started to buzz. He saw Claudia’s name and sighed loudly before answering.

“Claudia coming up with more work for you?” Archie laughed.   
  


“Somehow with my own job; Yes,” Jughead scoffed. Jughead slowly answered and raised his phone to his ear as he balanced his phone on his shoulder. “What else is due tomorrow?”

She laughed, “The NYU Writing Center was wondering if you’d be able to work for them. They’d be willing to pay you double the amount of most of their workers and all you have to do is work on Saturdays with a couple students.”

Jughead rolled his eyes, “I hate teaching, did you really tell them I was interested?”

“It’s eight hours a week Forsythe,” Claudia interjected.

“Jughead god, when do I start?” Jughead scoffed.

“This Saturday…” Claudia said slightly scared of Jughead’s reaction.

“I’m going to have my sister over, come on! What am I supposed to do? Bring her?” Jughead retorted.

“Well I just messaged them as we were talking and they said you were more than welcome to bring family.”

“Great,” Jughead mockingly said as he hung up his phone.

“What was that about?” Archie asked.

“I start working my Saturday shift at the writing center tomorrow,” Jughead sighed loudly.

“After we pick Jellybean up tomorrow, we can hang while you work and then once you’re done we can walk around,” Archie offered.

“Okay you’ll have to entertain her from…” Jughead paused while he checked the new message from Claudia. Jughead groaned, “Nine-thirty am to five-thirty ugh. And they’re doing they’re touring and teaching their new hires tomorrow. This is disgusting, I don’t even get an intro day because I worked there before I had published my books.” Jughead just exhaled loudly as he got up from the couch, “We have to pick Jellybean up at seven o’clock so I gotta get to my apartment bro,” Jughead said.

“See you tomorrow,” Archie said as Jughead moved towards Archie’s apartment door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am making Toni and Betty friends. Do not worry because Toni is different in this fuff/agnst. Also who's hype for them working and living near each other?


	3. Fate's Push

“Jughead!” Jellybean excitedly said as she ran up to hug and greet him. She went for an embrace and Jughead awkwardly hugged her back, he wasn’t one for expressing his emotions physically.

Once Jellybean stepped back, Archie chuckled and went in for a hug. “How old are you now?” Archie asked.

“Fifteen now, thank you so much for the ticket you guys,” Jellybean smiled.

“As I told you anytime,” Jughead furrowed his brows as he smiled. He grabbed Jellybean’s suitcase and lugged it over to a cab who drove them to Jughead’s apartment building.

“This place is giant,” Jellybean looked in awe of the expensive apartment Jughead lived in. “I assume writing’s been paying you well,” She laughed.

Jughead shifted uncomfortably in his living room. He was a very modest person and hated for people to see him as someone who has money. Honestly, he didn’t care about money as long as he had enough to keep him and his loved ones in good condition. “Th-Thanks,” Jughead stuttered as he walked to the guest bedroom. “Here’s your room for as long as you’re here,” Jughead said while pointing his hand inside. Jellybean nodded and threw her suitcase to the bed. Jughead was one hundred percent sure this room was nicer than hers at the trailer.

“Which could be a while and we could all hang more,” Archie nodded while seeing how much Jellybean was enjoying her temporary room. She shrugged and went to start unpacking. While she did so, Archie and Jughead went over to Netflix and turned on Stranger Things.

As Jellybean joined them she said, “Nice my favorite.” She went to sit next to Jughead. She was slightly leaning on him and could tell he probably never had a girlfriend because his whole body was stiff. She started to wonder if her brother had a love life, or cared about one after everything their family had messed up.

“As they were all watching, Jellybean broke the silence of watching and said, “So do you have a girlfriend Jug?”

This caused Jughead to glance over with shock of her question and Archie had just as much shock, but more amusement about the situation.

“God, no” Jughead replied.

Archie scoffed, “Ha, that’s funny. Jughead Jones and a girlfriend.” This caused Jughead to reach to the other side of the couch and slap his shoulder. “Owe bro,” Archie said still laughing.

“You’re a dumbass Andrews,” Jughead said while rolling his eyes.

Jellybean was watching with a smile on her face, “Why not? Did no one find your warm, bubbly personality and iconic fashion sense attractive?”

“Hey, my bubbly personality and denim jacket with “S t-shirts”are very attractive,” Jughead said while nudging Jellybean’s arm.

“Sure,” Jellybean laughed. She realized what happiness she was missing in her town, but she also thought about the promise she made herself to help her father. She felt sad because this trip was only going to make her miss _this_ more than she already did.

Jughead started tapping his fingers on the couch while he looked at the clock. “Damn it,” Jughead mumbled as he looked to Jellybean and Archie, “Guy’s we have to go, we need to be there in thirty minutes.”

They followed Jughead as he rushed to grab his wallet and they slid out of the apartment. They walked over to the writing center and fortunately the other new workers wouldn’t be rushing in until fifteen minutes after his shift.

\--------

“Toni, can you help me pick out my outfit for work today?” Betty asked across the phone and of course a total of sixty seconds later, there was a knock to her door.

As Toni followed Betty to her bedroom closet, Toni picked out her denim jacket and a pink dress that had a beautiful v-neck accompanied by a pair of blue suede heels that almost matched the denim perfectly. “I think you need to show formal, but edgy today. You’ll look super cute…” Toni started to smile, “And maybe a guy will see that today at work.” Toni had a sing songy voice that made Betty get butterflies in her stomach thinking of a guy actually wanting to date her. Just like Veronica, Toni always encouraged her to be this confident person.

Betty changed and walked out of the bathroom. As she walked into her bedroom, Toni glanced over and said, “Yesss that’s my best friend!”

Betty smiled as she shrugged and hauled over to the bed. Betty’s head shot up, “Oh my god, you have to meet my bestie V! I think you guys would like each other plus she might actually kill me if I don’t show her the outfit I decided to wear on my first day of work.”

Toni smiled and nodded while Betty dialed her number for a facetime. “V…” Betty said while pointing the camera to Toni, “This is my friend Toni. I was thinking we could all hang out when you come to visit.”

Veronica chuckled, “Oh my god, we’re internet friends. Toni Tapaz right?”

Toni smiled with her brows still furrowed, “Oh my god, Veronica Lodge.”

Betty chuckled thinking how well this trio was already going. “Perfect,” Betty said as she moved her phone to be standing up by the light on her nightstand. “V, Toni helped me pick out my outfit for work today. Opinions or thoughts?”

Veronica gave a wide smile, “You look so good B! Loving the new clothes. It looks so you, but different. Love.”

Betty laughed and went over to the kitchen to make a late lunch. As her and Toni made sandwiches, they remained on facetime with Veronica.

“So what are you guys making?” Veronica giggled while eating some food.

“PB & J duh,” Betty laughed, knowing both Toni and Veronica were aware of her ‘mad cooking skills.’

“I saw your mom yesterday,” Veronica laughed. Betty remained smiling while one of her hands fell to under the kitchen counter. She started to clench her hand.

“What-What did she say?” Betty asked with a slightly more serious tone that snapped Veronica back to the fact that Toni didn’t know about her situation with her mom. Toni turned to Betty looking perplexed about why her mom talking to her friend would be a big deal.

“Oh...Uhm not much. She just wanted to know if you have been talking to me which you have,” Veronica said trying to seem casual.

Betty nodded and started to say, “Did she think I stopped talking to-Ah.” Betty didn’t notice that she was pressing so hard.

Toni glanced over to Betty and Veronica stared through the screen trying to find out what was wrong, “What is it?” They both asked in sync.

“Oh, no-Nothing. I had something in my eye,” Betty lied to them both. After the awkward silence, Toni interjected.

“Well we should probably start eating and get going in the next hour. Sorry Veronica, but I have to get her ready,” Toni forced a smile.

“Bye Toni, bye V,” Veronica said while the smile died on her face as she saw the facetime end. She was afraid she was the reason Betty had a anxiety attack.

\--------

Jughead finally finished talking with his last student and was packing up his satchel. He stuffed his laptop and papers into it and walked to the lobby to see Jellybean and Archie eagerly awaiting his arrival. It was 5:05 pm and there were new workers starting to crowd the lower level of the building. Jughead sighed as he made his way to them. “Let’s get out of here,” Jughead scoffed while speed walking out of the building, making Jellybean and Archie struggle to keep up with him. They were multiple feet behind him, but Jughead was going to avoid all possible choices of interacting with new workers nearby.

He was speed walking so fast he accidentally jammed his elbow against someone else’s. Jughead was still looking down until he felt the force of his body against a rushing person’s, banging into each other. The jolt caused the girl to drop her small stack of papers that were tucked away in her right arm. “Shit,” They both mumbled softly. She immediately dropped to the floor and tried to scramble her papers together until Jughead crouched down on his knees to help her pick up whatever he had caused her drop. By this time Archie and Jellybean were behind Jughead watching him interact with this person.

Jughead started to pick up some of her papers. He started to read them, poems. One of them was called _A Wistful Mourning_ and Jughead was able to frantically read a couple lines while grabbing the others. It was very deep and written straight from her emotions. It was a sign for help that anyone like them would notice. Jughead, for once actually spoke without mumbling, clearly said, “Your work is very concentrated on expressing emotions with heightened language, I admit explaining like that takes a lot of skill.” Jughead said this quite honestly, he respected her work. He could relate to what she was writing from.

“Thanks,” She replied shyly. She said looking to the ground thinking of how some random person had complimented her work based off of reading it for two seconds. “I-I’m so sorry for bumping into you, I was rushing into work…” She started to say as she slowly started to stand up.

Jughead, to even his surprise, gently grabbed her arm to steady her as she stood up. As she did so, Jughead started to say, “No honestly, it was my fault. I-” Jughead stopped speaking the moment their eyes made contact. It felt like the whole world had stopped no matter how hard he tried to restart it. She was blushing as she watched his arm remain frozen on her skin. She had green eyes that he felt were piercing into his blue eyes. She felt the world stop as well. Jughead didn’t know why, but he couldn’t form any sentences. It’s like he was starstruck about this person no one knew about. He felt like he could see into her, like they were destined for more than just this apology conversation. She was blonde wearing a denim jacket with heels, he wondered if she always dressed up. He honestly liked her style. Jughead shook his head back into reality, dropping his hand.

“Sorry…”

Her skin was flushing fascia, “Betty. My name’s Betty.” She cocked her head as she smiled, “What do you like to do…” Betty was having trouble coming up with words to say to Jughead. She felt like she had so much more to say. “Literature wise?”

“Oh...Have you read any of the F Jones books? Like-”

“-A Cry In White Noise? Yeah…” Betty’s blushing became more evident than before, “Wait. Are you…” Betty now felt starstruck. How did she luck out on meeting one of her favorite literary heroes and how was he so handsome? He was very attractive which isn't something she expected of an author. She immediately looked his physical features, seeing his “S t-shirt” with black jeans and a denim jacket that looked similar to hers. He had a beanie on and these beautiful, curly, black brooding and mysterious curls that perfectly went to the side of his hat. He was thin, but fit and around six feet tall. Usually because Betty was tall, around five foot eight, she had trouble finding a nice guy who was taller than her. She blinked quickly as she started to realize she was examining him for too long. “What’s the F stand for?” She asked curiously.

“You’ll have to find that out later, call me Jughead,” He said shaking her hand. Her palms were sweaty, she was either nervous because she liked him or because she had read his books and was nervous simply because she was fangirling. He was desperately hoping it was the first option, but Jughead never thought so self confidently so he assumed it was just the second option.

“Wh-Where would I see you again?” Betty giggled nervously.

“You work here on Saturdays?” Jughead smirked.

“Yeah,” Betty bit her bottom lip as her face blushed even more. Jughead had to admit that when Betty bit her lip it was like she could control him and put him into a trance. She didn’t know it was even possible to blush even more.

“I’ll see you around Betty,” Jughead gave out a small smile, something he never did.

As Betty walked away, Jughead immediately saw her dial some number and couldn’t help but wonder who and what she was calling about. Overall, that small interaction lasted about five minutes which is way more than any usual ‘Sorry I hit you’ conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmmm I smell bughead :)


	4. Aftermath of The Collision

Jughead was sill frozen thinking about hi interaction with this supposed Betty. He forgot that Archie and Jellybean were probably gushing about this five second conversation. 

“I bet you have a crush on her,” Jellybean said while walking up next to Jughead. Jughead was still not moving with that dumb smirk covering his face.

“What?” Jughead replied turning to Jellybean.

Archie beamed over to Jughead, “Bro you totally do,” He said shoving Jughead causing him to trip slightly.

While they walked away, Jughead noticed Betty had watched him from inside the building. He didn’t know what he was feeling, but he wanted to feel it again. It was like he didn’t have problems and the only thing that mattered was one other person in his life. He wanted that more than anything.

Jughead shook his head, “No, no.” He sounded almost unsure himself.

“Oh…” Jellybean said and then again louder, “Oh!” Jughead looked to her in confusion and she spoke again. “Archie is this how he acts when women talk to him?”

Archie grinned, “Usually he acts like they don’t exist.”

Jellybean giggled, “So he does like her! Did you get her number or even her name?”

Jughead shot a glared at her, “I’m not telling my fifteen year old sister this,” Jughead scoffed.

The whole entire time they were walking to get italian at Sant Ambroeus, Jughead ignored all their amusement to the situation. Luckily since Jughead lived on Lafayette Street, everywhere he went was within walking distance which meant the walk would be short. Once they got seated, Jughead made eye contact with Jellybean and Archie who were talking about him. 

“Okay fine!” Jughead finally slammed the table with his hands, “She was pretty, can you guys stop?”

Jellybean and Archie both looked over surprised. They didn’t actually think annoying him would get him. They also didn’t really know what to say, they were bugging him for the past thirty minutes so he would admit he has a crush on her. 

“And I felt something,” Jughead said, catching even himself off guard by his comment. “She was just…” He was speechless, “I-I like her. So you can stop your dumb little parade now,” Jughead looked down to his empty plate as his face flushed fascia. 

“Fine,” Archie sighed with a smile on his face that he was sharing with Jellybean.

“What?” Jughead glared at them.

“Nothing,” Jellybean said while taking a sip of water.

“What? Tell me!” Jughead interjected.

“No it’s just,” Jellybean offered a genuine smile directed towards Jughead, “She was pretty, I liked Betty...And I think she liked you. That’s all”

Jughead placed his hands on the table and balanced his head on the tip of his fingers. He chuckled, “God, you two are the last people I would think about telling this kind of stuff too.”

“You’re such a dork,” Archie laughed.

“You’re a douche,” Jughead quickly replied.

\--------

“How was work?” Toni asked excitedly as she entered Betty’s apartment who was writing in her diary.

Betty quickly turned and smiled as she closed her diary, “It was good, but my boss Cheryl is kind of a monster.”

Toni laughed, ‘Yeah she’s me ex…” Toni glanced at Betty again to see a small tint of natural blush still visible on her face, “Wait oh my god why are you smiling?”

“What? Nothing,” Betty shrugged playing with her diary in her hands.

“You met a guy!” Toni exclaimed, startling Betty.

“No,” Betty said in a guilty voice. She placed down the diary so she would stop fidgeting with it.

“Who? Tell me or I’m telling Veronica!” Toni taunted.

Betty sighed happily, “I was going kind of fast on the sidewalk and this guy going to opposite way was too,” Betty’s face started to flush with fascia, “And he accidentally bumped into me and I dropped my stuff. He seemed like he was in a hurry, but he immediately helped me and saw some of my poems that I had been working on and he complimented them,” Betty’s heart was racing rethinking the memory.

“Anything else?” Toni was anticipating more.

“As I started to stand up he grabbed my arm so I could balance myself and I still hadn’t looked at him yet because I was kind of embarrassed...And I glanced up to me and he stopped talking,” Betty giggled, “It’s like the world stopped. After a couple seconds he shyly moved his arm that froze on me and asked if I worked at the Writing Center.” Betty bit her lip as she smiled, “He told me his nickname was Jughead and he would see me at work.”

“Oh my god, you guys are definitely soulmates,” Toni beamed while clapping her hands. “Can we please please please tell Veronica?” She pursed her lips while begging, little did she know it didn’t take much for Betty to say yes.

“What if he only works on Saturdays? It’s gonna be a whole week,” Betty went on before realizing Toni had asked her a question. She giggled, “Oh...Yeah we can call her.”

\--------

Jughead was on his laptop writing a chapter for his new book,  _ Useless Expressions,  _ but he was having some writer’s block. He couldn’t stop thinking of this little interaction he had with this Betty earlier. “Jughead?” Jellybean asked forcing Jughead to blink and get back to reality.

“What?” He asked curious why Jellybean was awake this late. Jughead was a night owl when he felt like it and tonight was one of those nights. It was nearly two am and he couldn’t fall asleep so he tried to write his way back to sleep.

“It’s really nice here Jughead and I’ve really liked staying, but…” Jughead knew where this conversation was going. She was trying to fix everything like he once had before he realized there was no point because there was no end.

“You don’t want to stay,” Jughead finished for her while curling his left hand into a fist, “Because you told yourself you were going to do everything in your power to make things better. I know.” He traced around the crimson crescents and had the desire to deepen the cuts. His skin was already raw there anyways.

Jellybean glanced at Jughead with a slight look of disbelief because he was right, but mad. She could tell, he was her big brother. “Jughead I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I just came here.”

Jughead rolled his eyes thinking of when he shared her opinions on this topic. He scolded himself for ever having those foolish ideas when he allowed himself to dig into his palms. “I get it Jellybean, I used to feel like that.”

She shrugged sitting next to him on the couch, “But you don’t anymore?” She asked.

“No because I started to blame myself,” he admitted trying to block out his disappointment of himself with his hands. “It’s fine if you don’t want to stay here, but how do you trust dad?”

“Because I have to okay?” She snapped setting Jughead slightly off guard. 

He reached for her shoulder, “Don’t do this to yourself. You have to more days here to realize how much better it would be here. Please, go to sleep it’s late.”

Jellybean nodded and walked back to her room sluggishly. Luckily when Jughead looked down to his palms he didn’t see any blood. 

He turned his attention to his laptop again only to remember he couldn’t write. His thoughts went back to Betty. Jughead decided whatever attempts he was about to make at writing weren’t going to be successful so he decided to make a late night trip to his office. If he couldn’t write at his house because of the distractions, maybe he could at his silent office. He slipped away from the Saranac Apartments without Jellybean noticing and walked on the street. Not nearly as crowded as day time, but New York was never empty like his old town he lived in.

When Jughead arrived at Starbucks and was waiting for his order, he went over to a small table and placed his satchel down. He opened his laptop and went over to messages. He started to conduct a message to his father to ask how he was doing and how he was taking care of Jellybean. He started,

_ Hey Dad, I was just checking in to see how you were doing. It’s been great to have Jellybean around… _

He noticed the message was read almost immediately after he sent it. Unfortunately it remained read. Jughead started at his screen blankly thinking of how his arrogant father didn’t even care enough to respond, yet he wanted to know he read it. 

\--------

Betty was taking one of her late night facetimes with Veronica as she walked down. Betty found that sometimes she would be staying up late and not being able to sleep because she often overthinks stuff. She liked to make a late night trip to Starbucks on those nights. It was around two am and Veronica still had a smile plastered on her face from when Betty was talking about this Jughead guy.

“So it sounds like he works on Saturdays,” Veronica inferred.

“Yeah, but it’s Monday morning V. That means I won’t even see him for a while-” Betty pouted with a small smile.

“-Yeah,  _ but  _ he probably lives around here,” Veronica said while opening her laptop and looking up Jughead’s office, “And his office is on this street. Maybe if you pass it a couple times, he’ll notice,” Veronica laughed.

That was funny, Betty was actually passing his office now, it was on the way from her apartment and the Starbucks. “Wait,” Betty snapped. “Oh my god, this is his office,” Betty said while squinting her eyes trying to look in the office. “The lights are on. Should I? Maybe something’s wrong, it’s really late. I’m going to see if he’s okay,” Betty said.

Veronica giggled, “Okay go get your man,” As she hung up the phone.

Betty looked through the windows and saw that he was in the front room typing away. She cocked her head to the side when she saw his frown. She inhaled heavily and stood up straight. Betty entered the building looking around; empty. She lightly knocked on Jughead’s open door before walking in, but Jughead was too focused on looking at the message to answer. He was beginning to curl his hands into the deepening crimson crescents. He closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. Betty immediately grabbed his hands, startling him. Jughead shot his eyes up and gave a slight smirk as he quickly let out a sigh in relief when he saw it was her. “Betty,” He whispered. She uncurled his hands kindly and held them as she started to sit across from him in a chair. 

She chuckled and then imperceptibly thought of how she was going to explain why she went into his office at two am although she was almost a complete stranger to Jughead. Betty spoke in a gentle caring voice, “That’s a nasty habit...” Betty sighed as she turned her palms to him, “It’s hard to break.”

Jughead saw her scars and his heart immediately broke. Sure he had done it to himself, but to see someone like Betty do this for some reason made him feel somber. His brows furrowed and held her hands, “Why are you walking around New York at two in the morning?” He caressingly rubbed his hands in circle motions against hers. This was something he didn’t expect to do, but he felt so close to Betty even though they’ve barely had more than five minutes of conversation previously. 

Betty had felt so good to have her hands with Jughead. It was like Jughead was sending her into a trance because she forgot she was supposed to respond to Jughead’s question. “Oh,” She started to say, “I’m sorry, you probably don’t get visitors at two am that come in unnoticed,” She shyly joked.   

“Oh my god, no,” Jughead shook his head giving out a soft chuckle, “It’s-It’s fine. I’m glad you came in.” Jughead smoothly slid his hands from Betty’s, relieving her of the trance he put her in.

“I really shouldn’t have come in, I mean we barely know each other,” Betty shifted uncomfortably in her chair, crossing her legs. She felt like that sounded demeaning, “Not that-Not that I don’t want to get to know you or anything,” She reached her hand to Jughead’s arm. 

Then, she felt his precious blue eyes piercing through her whole body. This time,it was her arm that froze on his. Unintentionally, Betty rested her hand on top of Jughead’s bicep. She blushed as her hand stood still on his muscle and her smirked. His heart was racing as he thought of all the possibilities of what that meant. Her eyes sparkled at him, she thought she was the only one who was getting nervous. Her face flashed bright fascia and she looked down in attempt to hide the blush as she released her grip on Jughead’s arm.

“Uhm...I should probably get going and sleep Jug-Jughead,” She said standing up, still avoiding eye contact. 

Jughead stood up and and threw his laptop into his satchel and went behind Betty, “Betty...It’s late, do you live around here? I could drop you off…” Jughead offered as a small hint of blush covered his cheeks that didn’t go unnoticed by Betty.

“I live in Avalon Bowery Apartments, if-if that’s not out of your way,” Betty glanced up to meet Jughead’s eyes.

“Yeah, I actually live in Saranac...It’s close,” Jughead smirked as he went to close the door behind them. Betty immediately thought about how nice the Saranac apartments were, they were basically like houses. “I...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to brag,” Jughead said after thinking Betty could have thought he was trying to impress her. 

“No, I know,” Betty shook her head smiling, “I know your not like that.” As they reached outside Betty shivered.

Without hesitation, Jughead shrugged his jacket off and put it around Betty’s shoulders. She smiled and they continued conversation until they reached the lobby of Betty’s apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmm I think bughead is coming.


	5. Reconciling And Departing

When Betty got home it was nearly three am because they had stopped and talked in front of her building for nearly half an hour. Betty departed and practically skipped back to her room. Once Betty went up the stairs and started to get out her keys for her apartment, she heard music inside. She knew that she didn’t leave music on, she was very responsible. Betty inhaled and exhaled slowly before she turned her doorknob. 

“He-Hello?” Betty sputtered as she opened the door, gripping her left hand into a ball. It helped her in a sense of forgetting about how nervous she had been. After a couple seconds, Betty immediately released her hands thinking about Jughead. Suddenly she saw a figure come from her bedroom. Betty’s brows instantly unfurrowed as a smile came across her face, “V! What-How are you here?”

Veronica went up and hugged her, “Toni works some late shifts and I wanted to come make a surprise visit. You didn’t even notice that when I facetimed you earlier I was at your airport!”

Betty chuckled, “Yeah, did not realize.”

Then Veronica raised an eyebrow in suspicion, “I thought since we had just facetimed when you were walking to Starbucks, you’d be home and awake…” A smirk came across her face, “So you can imagine the surprise I had coming into your empty house right after we talked. I thought you died when you went to this mysterious author’s building.”

Betty immediately felt her face burning up as she gripped the side of her jacket, taking in Jughead’s scent. His jacket smelled like peppermint and coconut. Veronica watched Betty, perplexed until she made the connection. She had just seen her denim jacket that was placed on the back of her desk chair, inside her bedroom. Veronica knew it wasn’t hers. She smiled as she wiped her hand against the sleeve of the jacket and then smelled it, Betty’s signature scent was sweet strawberries. “Ohhhh I see,” Veronica beamed. 

“What?” Betty asked innocently.

“That’s not your jacket,” Veronica’s smirk became a huge grin, “It’s that author’s!”

“V, he has a name. It’s Jughead,” Betty shrugged off the jacket when she went to go sit in the couch, she then layed it over her on the chair. 

Veronica followed and laughed, “His book doesn’t say that. Is he some serial killer?”

“No,” Betty immediately replied.

“Is he a snob? He’s probably loaded,” Veronica’s eyes were widening.

Betty rolled her eyes and scoffed, “No V! He’s really nice and not like that. I don’t think he’s talked about money once. I mean he works for the Writing Center and if he were so stuck up, he definitely wouldn’t work because he probably has enough money to retire...I just,” Betty broke eye contact with Veronica, “What if he thinks I’m interested in his money? Or fame?”

Veronica chuckled and placed her hand on Betty’s shoulder, “If he really knows you...Or gets to know you B, he’ll know that you’re not like that. And...If he doesn’t like you B, I think he wouldn’t have walked you home or given you his jacket.”

Her face flashed fascia thinking about how she had his jacket. They still had so much to learn about each other, but she already knew she could trust him. They both had the same problem, their hands. She remembered how quickly he gave her his jacket after seeing her being cold. She thought about how their conversation ended. He had grabbed her hands and held them as he told her to be careful. She promised she would try if he did. Her hands fit so perfectly with his. She had shyly hugged him before walking away with a huge smile on her face as Jughead waited for her to enter the elevator before leaving. And she finally got his number, her heart skipped as he took her phone and typed his number. This meant that he wanted her to talk to him.

“We both have the scars on our hands,” Betty said vouerably. “I-I think we’re helping each other.”

Veronica gave a squeeze on Betty’s shoulder before placing her hand back down, “I’m glad you found someone you really trust. When are you going to see him again?”

Betty sighed, “It’s only Monday and he works on Saturdays.”

Veronica instantly smiled, “Yeah, but we’re not waiting until Saturday. Ask him out!”

Betty looked down as her face flashed bright pink, “What if he just wants to me friends?”

“Prove him wrong,” Veronica looked into Betty’s eyes, “I bet you’ll win the battle.”

Betty giggled and then stood up, reaching her hand for Veronica’s, “Come on, we’re going to sleep.”

\--------

Jughead was typing on his laptop in his kitchen. He hadn’t stopped typing since he had returned to his apartment after dropping off Betty. It was around nine am now. Although he felt terrible about his sister, he couldn’t help but let his heart take over his body. That is until he heard someone approaching him and sunk his feelings back down.

“Jughead, I have my bags. My flight’s in two hours so I think we should leave now.”

He sighed as he started to traces his finger around the crimson crescents. Then, he stopped. Betty and him were going to try to heal together, he couldn’t break their promise. He didn’t have the heart to do that to Betty. He let his hands out of the fists and mumbled, “Yeah, let’s get going.”

There was no conversation in the car, the mood was too dispiriting to have a brief conversation. Once they reached the airport fifteen minutes later, Jellybean jumped out of the car attempting to avoid conversation. Jughead grabbed her arm, pulling her to a halt. She looked back, “What Jughead?”

“Just tell me one thing…” His heart broke thinking of the question he was pondering about, “Has Fp hurt you...Ever?” His voice cracked as he sighed.

“Jughead…” She began.

“No Jellybean,” He threw his hands in the air, “You don’t get to dodge my quest-”

“Jughead!” Jellybean interjected and a few people glanced over, not that Jellybean cared. Although, they’ve both had their fair share of screaming throughout their lives.

“God dammit,” He said lowering his voice. He was hoping Jellybean would lower her voice, but this wasn’t the case. “I can’t sleep or even function Jellybean. You know what I do all day? Sit in a fucking chair and write. That gives me a lot of time for my brain to take over and control me with all these fears that I don’t even know if you’re safe. Hell, I know you’re not…” His voice cracked again as he really thought about the words he was saying, “And you won’t let me fucking help you.” He curled his hands into fists, but immediately pulled his thumb under his other fingers so he wouldn’t be able to press into his skin. 

A tear fell from Jellybean’s emotionless face. “I wish it were that simple,” She yelled before slamming her car door and storming off into the airport. He kicked his foot against the ground mumbling curse words as he went back into his white corvette. He knew he was going to lose this battle, but for some reason it just felt so terrible to know he actually lost it. The last thing he wanted to do was leave Jellybean with bad terms, she was good at ignoring when she wanted to. He drove off to his apartment and couldn’t stop his head from racing, he had a huge headache from everything that happened. He picked up his phone and started to dial Betty’s number hoping she could find it somewhere in her heart to understand he was calling for help.

“Hey Betty…” He started to say, it was evident his dreary.

“Hey Jughead,” Betty happily said with Veronica watching the conversation going on. Then Betty’s brows furrowed, “Wait, is everything alright?”

“Uhm…” His lips were quivering, “I just…” Jughead’s voice broke, “I don’t know who to talk to. I was hoping I could come talk to you or something.”

Betty’s face fell from her smile hearing him sound like that. “Jughead, of course. My room’s 418...,” She paused, “Are you fine driving? I-I could pick you up.”

He exhaled loudly and stumbled on his words, “I-I can drive. I-I’m not interrupting you from anything?”

Betty glanced over to Veronica who looked perplexed, “No, no. You’re fine. I’ll see you in twenty?” She questioned.

“Yeah,” He mumbled hanging up.

Betty had sorrowful eyes, “I’m so sorry to kick you out V, but we have to talk,” she tapped her fingers against her leg thinking of what to do, “Oh,” She gasped. “You can meet Toni  _ officially _ . I-I’m sorry,” Her eyes looking sorry.

“B, don’t feel bad. I’ll go hand with Toni, it’ll be great!” Veronica said standing up, walking to the door.

“I’m sorry,” Betty said again.

“B, I’m gonna go chill with my friend it’s fine!” Veronica said while closing the door.

Instead of going back to curling her hands, Betty anxiously tapped her fingers against the couch thinking of what Jughead could be upset about. She got a blanket from her room and made some hot chocolate. Betty loved fall and decided that if she were upset, she would most likely curl up in a blanket with a hot beverage to try and comfort herself. Now, she knew someone else would be able confide in. Betty didn’t know why, but hearing Jughead like that made her heart stop. 

\--------

“Hey! You’re the Veronica that Betty always talks about,” Toni laughed, “Isn’t it so crazy we basically know each other.”

“I know!” Veronica giggled while walking into Toni’s apartment.

“So how are things in Riverdale?” Toni asked as she grabbed a Coca-Cola for her.

Although Veronica had a smile on her face, Toni saw through it. “Is everything alright?” She asked caringly.

“Yeah,” Veronica said with a slightly higher voice.

Toni rolled her eyes, “Seriously? Is everything okay?”

Veronica nodded as she took a sip of soda. They headed for Toni’s bedroom. Veronica sat at her desk chair looking over her room and Toni bounced onto her bed. She had closed the door which raised Veronica’s suspicions.

“Is it Betty?” Toni almost whispered.

Veronica’s eyes immediately looked at her shocked, Betty was good at hiding her problems from others and locking them out. She thought,

_ How does Toni know? _

“What?” She said back.

“Betty, I think she’s dealing with some stuff…” Toni said signaling that she was waiting for Veronica to say something.

“I...Uhm listen, this isn’t my place to be talking about this stuff. But, yes she is dealing with stuff, I mean we all are,” Veronica gave a light chuckle.

“Does she hurt herself? I’m just really worried because we became really good friends and you know, you care about the people you’re close with.”

Veronica slowly exhaled, “Betty has her demons, but everything’s fine. Like I said, and I’m sorry, but it’s not my business to talk about her personal life. I mean she doesn’t even open up with me that much about that.”

Toni nodded her head in agreement, “I totally understand that you can’t tell me, I just wanted to make sure she’s okay. She seems really happy all the time you know, I wanted to make sure she really was.”

Veronica’s lips curved into a slight, but small smile. “Sorry I came on such short notice, but Jughead was coming over,” Veronica pulled a real smile on her face, “Didn’t want to interfere with those two.”

Toni’s eyes sparkled, “Isn’t it great? She sounded like she didn’t want a boyfriend at first, but I swear he must be dreamy since she changed her mind the second she met him. He’s an author, did you hear that?”

“All the details girl,” Veronica giggled.

“And I swear I’m not a stalker, but he wrote  _ A Cry in White Noise,  _ which was an amazing book. Like super good. It enhanced so many emotions, especially grief and agony. Dark, but inspiring. I didn’t even realize he lived on this street because I figured he was some unattractive, moody middle-aged man.” Toni laughed at realizing all the internet stalking she said.

Veronica’s eyes widened, “Yeah. He must be pretty attractive because I swear they both have each other wrapped around their fingers.”

“Wow they’re already hanging out. I’m proud,” Toni beamed.


	6. A Potential Cure

Betty had been wearing Jughead’s jacket since she had got it earlier in the day. She was writing a poem while thinking about Jughead. For some reason she didn’t understand, her heart hurt when his did. She was having trouble staying awake, even with her worries, although it was already so late when she got home that she decided to stay awake. Betty heard a knock and she practically flew to the door. 

She opened the door and before he could say anything she wrapped her arms around him. He wasn’t expecting this quick embrace, but he immediately gave in and lowered his head on her shoulder, breathing distraughtly trying to not cry. Finally Betty pulled away and held his arms, 

“Let’s go sit down.” She led him to the couch and caressed his hands as she snuggled against him.

She looked in his mournful eyes, her eyes sparkling at him and Jughead’s heart instantly fluttered, making him feel a slight bit better. “What’s wrong?” She asked compassionately, speculating the possibilities of his mental illness.  

“My dad’s an alcoholic and my mom left for pretty much my whole life...” He said horsley as a tears filled the corner of his eyes. “...And my little sister,” His voice cracked as a tear fled down his cheek. He inhaled, exhaled, and then continued, “My mom left again and she wants to help my dad...It’s just hard.” She could feel how heartbroken he was. She felt anger and agony about how someone could hurt Jughead so much that he couldn’t even talk about his family without crying. 

She then sighed thinking about his book, how beautifully composed it was. It wasn’t any ordinary novel, he was writing it from his actual misery and feeling of always being alone. His whole childhood was probably as miserable as hers. He squeezed her hands and she returned the squeeze showing she could handle the gasp he had on her hands.

She kissed his forehead, sending shockwaves throughout his entire body. He was so conflicted by all of his emotions. He was convinced Betty could magically fix any problem he had, all she had to do was touch him with her heart-warming skin. She then held Jughead as his head went to snuggle against her shoulders once again. He silently sobbed while Betty held him whispering comforting phrases like, “It’s going to be okay in the long end,” Or “We’ll get through this,” Or, “We can stay here as long as you need.” All of these three had something in common, the mentioning that Betty would be there for him. 

After around fifteen minutes of Jughead’s mourning, his breath finally steadied and he shifted away from Betty and released the grip he had on her hands. They both suddenly felt the coldness break in between them. It was like a gust of wind attacked both their sides. She didn’t want to invade on his personal space if that’s what he wanted. Betty grabbed a blanket and pulled it around him as she stood up to grab some snacks.

That is until Jughead reached for Betty’s hand, making her unable to walk away from him. In a despairing brokenhearted voice, “Please...Stay.” Betty nodded sat next to him and went under the blanket with Jughead. She decided that Jughead needed someone to invade his personal space.

Betty slowly inhaled, “My mom put these impractical and impassable expectations that I was never able to reach because she didn’t want me to be like my sister who had twins at sixteen and went to live on this crazy farm. Apparently there were some things I couldn’t keep under control, is what she said as her welcome to herself into my life. Like my anxiety, my behavior, my weight…” Betty didn’t want to go on because this list was quite honestly endless. Jughead understood. She had the luck of having her overbearing mother and he had the luck of having careless mother. Quite opposites that both end up with sadness. He now felt more sorry for Betty than himself. He could only imagine what a nightmare it would have had to been there. 

“I’m sorry,” He said horsely, wiping his face with his hand. 

“It’s okay, I was just saying I know where you are. We like to hide a lot of things and pretend everything’s okay...I’m glad everything doesn’t always have to be okay with us.” Betty warmly said. Jughead thought, 

_ Us. Us? _

“Thank you,” Jughead sniffled.

“For what?” Betty innocently asked.

“Telling me,” He whispered.

Betty nodded and squeezed his hand before standing up again to go to the kitchen. Jughead watched from the couch wondering what she was planning to make or do. She got out the hot cocoa packets that were already sitting next to the coffee machine and made two cups. With a small smile, Betty walked back to Jughead and handed him a mug.

“Did you have to cancel plans?” Jughead sighed.

Betty looked at Jughead in the eyes. She knew that right now they both probably weren’t emotionally stable, but her heart couldn’t stop itself from fluttering every time she looked at him. It was such a relief to know someone else had been struggling just like her. She knew she would be able to trust Jughead, maybe even more than her closest friends on some things.

She cocked her head to the side, “Well...I had a friend over.”

Jughead’s eyes were still looked like he was in pain, “I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” Betty said grabbing his arm. Unintentionally again, she gripped onto his bicep. She could feel his muscle bulging from his flannel. Jughead couldn't help the slight curve that came to the edge of his lips because she was embarrassed about touching him. After a couple seconds her senses came back to her although she didn’t release her grasp. “My friend and I practically live together, plus my other friend lives next door so I sent her off,” She chuckled.

Jughead gave a faint chuckled and looked down to her clutch on him. He looked at her arm and noticed she was wearing his jacket. He had to admit that he thought it was beyond adorable that she hadn’t put away his jacket. And then they both looked up so their eyes met. They were both fighting the urge to make any movement. Betty shifted closer, their thighs were now touching and she leaned her head higher. “Uhm…” She chuckled, “Sorry,” She said surrendering the urge she was feeling. She shook her head slightly and looked down to grab the remote. She couldn’t do this to Jughead, not when he was upset. She didn’t want to take advantage of him, she cared too much about Jughead to make a move like that. Betty turned on Netflix and snuggled her shoulder against his. Jughead’s heart was racing as she turned on a  _ Stranger Things  _ episode.

Jughead’s mind was still flying around what Betty was doing while they were watching the episode. She had moved closer and there was a moment he really thought Betty might be feeling what he was feeling. He put his arm around Betty’s shoulder causing her to lean her head against Jughead’s chest. She thought hearing the sound of his heartbeat was soothing, it was like she was finally at a stress free home that she had created all by herself with her hard work. She thought in the moment how complete here life would be with him, that he might be the life preserver that actually made it through the rough waters and would pull her out of this flood of a mess her life became, props to her mom.

After about what Jughead thought was an hour or two of watching Stranger Things, he glanced over to the clock. “Shit,” He mumbled. 

“What?” Betty said with her brows furrowing, apprehension taking control of her body.

“I have two chapters to write,” He sighed clearly frustrated, “I have to go before Claudia kills me.”

“Who’s Claudia?” Betty said with slight confusion and jealousy suddenly taking over, her head cocked to the side.

“My secretary,” Jughead chuckled clearly amused by how quickly Betty became perplexed at hearing him mention another girl’s name.

“Oh,” Betty said, sounding relieved. She perked her head back up and removed the blanket. As Jughead walked to the door she felt sad knowing he was leaving. His presence was so comforting to her, she felt like she was never alone. “Wait,” Betty pursed her lips, “Are you okay leaving? Like you’re alright...For now? Because you don’t have to leave,” Betty said wistfully.

Jughead gave out one of his rare smirks, “I’m better  _ now  _ Betty, but I do have to go and I’m sure if you follow around that I won’t get any work done.” He immediately looked to the floor as his cheeks flushed pink. He said they’d get distracted. He had said that she helped him.

Betty looked up to meet Jughead’s eye level. “Okay...Bye” Once their eyes met, Betty hit Jughead with puppy dog eyes and he was sure if he stayed for one more second than he did, then he would have given in.

\--------

“Bro where were you?” Archie stood up from Jughead’s desk. He had been in his office since like eight am awaiting his arrival.

Jughead placed down his satchel, “Uh...I had to drop off Jellybean.”

Archie folded his arms, “Yeah like four hours ago bro. Where were you?”

Jughead rolled his eyes, “What, were you worried me?”

“I thought you had a mental breakdown or something and you weren’t at your apartment. So yeah, kinda.”

Jughead scoffed, “It was three damn hours.”

Archie shifted the foot he was leaning on, “Honestly Jughead you haven’t been yourself in years so sorry if I cared.”

Jughead gave him empathetic eyes, he was right. “I’m sorry happiness is hard to come by. I went to Betty’s, god.”

Archie immediately forgot he was mad and a smirk came across his face, “Who’s Betty?”

Jughead felt like his face was heating up, “She was...Uhm that girl from the other day.” Jughead broke eye contact.

Archie smiled, but didn’t say anymore which was killing Jughead. “What? What are you not telling me?”

“Nothing,” Archie shrugged.

“Bullshit.”

“You actually like her,” Archie exclaimed.

“Oh my god. Get a life,” Jughead rolled his eyes. His face was now flashing fascia.

“Well I’m going to let you work…” Archie said in a sing songy voice as he walked out of the office, clearly proud of the mood he out Jughead into.

\--------

Betty had been taking a nap for the past hour until her doorbell woke her from her sweet dreams. She felt incredibly happy to be able to help Jughead. At first, she was scared she wouldn’t be able to comfort him, but in the end she decided her attempts were successful because he had been blushing and smirking after feeling so emotionally distraught.

She opened the door with a smile on her face as her guests walked in. “Hey Toni...V” She lead them to her infamous couch.

Both sat down and with a quiet voice, Veronica said, “Everything go okay with him?”

“Yeah, great.” Betty’s face started flashing fascia, she didn’t even know why. She thought,

_ It’s not even like we kissed. _

Toni and Veronica both exchanged excited glances. “Well, tell us what happened!” Toni practically screamed.

“He came over...And we talked,’ Betty smiled, “And his family’s a mess like mine so we just watched some Netflix. That’s it. It was nothing,” Betty looked over to see her two friends clearly not buying the “It’s nothing” part. 

Veronica rolled her eyes and sighed sarcastically, “Have you at least found out his real name?”

Betty shook her head and grabbed onto her new jacket. “I don’t think she’ll ever take it off,” Toni joked.

“Seriously, we aren’t dating,” Betty sighed.

“Yeah, but you wish you were,” Toni said nudging Betty.

Betty battered her eyes innocently as her skin started to heat up. “He’s nice…”

“And attractive I’ve seen! Toni and I were doing some internet searching, what a hottie,” Veronica giggled.

Betty’s eyes widened, “You google searched him?”

“What?” Toni asked as he voice got higher, “We needed to put a face with the name and btw no one knows what his real name is.” Betty giggled hearing how interested her friends were in her love life.

“We were wondering if you were up to some shopping because New York has way better and bigger stores than Riverdale does,” Veronica said with puppy dog eyes.

“Okay, but I was curious if we could just chill for a little bit. I barely got any sleep last night and would like to be energized for our shopping trip,” Betty asked slouching on the couch further.

Toni glanced to Veronica with a sly smile and then said, “Up all hours spending time with him Ronnie, I’m telling you.”

Veronica giggled, “Oh my god, swoon!”

Betty sluggishly shrugged as she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really happy to be able to expand upon Betty and Jughead's relationship and show how venerable Jughead makes himself around Betty. Some real trust :)


	7. Insurmountable Puzzle

“Okay so I was thinking we visit Forever 21…” Veronica started to ramble while Betty’s attention drifted off to the buzzing of her phone. 

She pulled her phone from Jughead’s jacket and glanced at the name, no other than Alice Cooper herself. Betty tried to ignore the call by putting it back in her pocket, but nonetheless it started to buzz again. She felt guilty ignoring ignoring her mom so eventually she gave in and pulled her phone out again, this time answering. Betty waited for the call to connect.

As Betty, Toni, and Veronica walked down the street to American Eagle, they were passing Jughead’s office. Living on Lafayette meant passing both their apartments, the writing center, and his office every single day when venturing down the street.

“Wait up one second,” Betty said holding up a hand to signal the girls to stop walking forward as the call connected with her mother. Alice hadn't even said anything yet, but Betty could tell how the conversation was going to go. Alice wanted her to start the conversation so she could quickly interject, blame, and ultimately humiliate Betty on practically anything she answered back.

“What so we can talk to Jughead?” Veronica taunted, but was quickly shushed by Betty trying to avoid the interrogation of her needy mother. She had shaken her hand that was already in the air signaling that it was going to be a long call from no other than her bitter and rash mother.

“Hey mom, what’s-” Betty didn’t even get to finish her question before Alice went on rambling. Of course, Betty already predicted this occurrence. Out of sheer luck, maybe fate, Jughead glanced over to see the girls stopped in front of his office.

“-What is wrong with you Betty? We haven’t talked in two weeks and you haven’t renewed any of your medicine. Do you know who you’re turning into? Betty, what’s gotten into you?” Alice howled heartlessly. 

He smirked looking over, deciding not to say anything until he saw the look that started to take over Betty’s face. Toni and Veronica both exchanged worried glances. Veronica could guess that this phone call was her mother’s and wanted to confirm, but didn’t want to make Betty feel even more uncomfortable with both her mom and slightly oblivious friend. Toni was going to ask what was wrong, but before she got the chance, Jughead mumbled his hello’s and grabbed Betty’s arm, taking her from her from deep conversation, well semi deep because there wasn’t really a conversation. More like a monologue of disappointment. When Betty noticed his touch, she gasped because she was so consumed with listening to her mother’s spiel that she didn’t notice Jughead had come outside. She have a sigh and small smile in relief that it was Jughead. She needed him right now and was glad he had been there.

She gave Toni and Veronica sympathetic looks before walking into the back of Jughead’s office, still on the phone with her long-winded mom.

Betty didn’t ask questions when he had led her to his back room, where her friends wouldn’t be able to see him, she knew why. She knew that Jughead wanted to give her some privacy from her friends and she was thankful he was thoughtful enough to do so. 

Jughead sat in a expensive, big chair he had while Betty paced around the room. He sat there waiting for Betty to sit down on another chair or to at least look at him. As he patiently waited for Betty’s decision, he watched her every movement, trying to read her. Finally after a couple seconds, Betty got the courage to put her phone on speaker. Betty staggeredly sighed as her trembling hands put the phone onto a nearby table.

“Elizabeth are you even listening to me?” She questioned.

Betty closed her eyes as tears fell. She hated when her mom called her Elizabeth, that’s actually why she had a nickname, all the connotation that came with Elizabeth was to negative. With her voice sounding shaky, she quietly replied, “Yes, I’m listening.”

“God are you? Because you didn’t when I told you to get your damn pills.”

Betty couldn’t hold it in anymore, her eyes squinted closed as every ounce of her body was urging her to rip into her already raw palms. But she couldn’t, for some reason Jughead gave her a lot of strength because she never did press into her palms. She quickly wiped her face with her hand and went to Jughead. She was no longer pacing, she decided to sit on the chair with him. It could fit both of them comfortably if she sat on his lap, which she did. His body was warm and his projected that heat onto Betty, slightly comforting her. As the phone buzzed on the table and as her mom meandered on, Betty cocked her head up, defeated and rested her neck between Jughead’s shoulder and neck.

“I’m sorry,” Betty whimpered back to her mom. Jughead just listened as he caressed her arm with circular strokes. With his other hand, he did the same on the side of her neck which sent shockwaves of emotions throughout her tingling body.

“There’s no need for apologies, but there is room for improvement.” Betty scoffed as tears promptly dripped down her face, it was one of Alice’s infamous quotes. “Watch yourself,” Alice said before heartlessly ending the call, not even waiting a second for Betty to respond.

Betty remained breathing choppily, rethinking all the horrid comments her mother had made about her. They certainly weren’t secrets anymore. 

“Just breath,” Jughead whispered in a caring voice as he kissed her temple which sent a rush of warmness throughout her body. She wrapped her arms around him, crying. Mascara and all, rushing down Betty’s face, of course that didn’t matter to Jughead.

After a good five minutes of Betty’s hyperventilating, Jughead was able to calm Betty down from her mother’s inhumane insults. Betty looked up to him teary eyed, “Juggie,” She whispered shakily. It was the first time she had called him that. Jughead didn’t know what to think because he was so preoccupied with trying to help her.

“What?” He asked calmly in a whisper.

“I’m never good enough for her,” Betty’s voice started to become unsteady again as the words left her mouth. It was true, she would never, but saying it out loud made Betty feel weak. It made her feel like she was actually supposed to feel bad.

“Shhh,” He whispered hugging her tighter. “I don’t care if you can’t meet those unrealistic goals Betts,” He sighed. Betty’s breathing started to be constantly even again. It was like that nickname could pull her back into reality. “You’re not anything your mom said you are and you’re perfect the way you are,” He whispered down Betty’s neck causing her to shiver. When Jughead said perfect, it was honest and pure. There was no secret meaning behind it. She was one-hundred percent sure she had never been this close to a man before and no one’s ever called her perfect in a way she didn’t hate it. The words rolled off his tongue so easily sending chills down her spine. Not only that, he had called her by a new nickname. She decided that she would love to be called Betts.

She looked up to him in disbelief. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and snuggled her head against his chest. Betty left a pink lipstick stain on Jughead’s cheek. “Can’t I just stay here forever?” She sarcastically said. Betty sniffed while wiping her lower neck of any tears that had fallen from her face.

Jughead chuckled as his face started to blush, “I think your friends will bust in here if you don’t.”

Betty sighed as Jughead stroked her hair, not wanting to leave her friend. They had barely known each other, but somehow they felt like they had been friends for years. 

Betty pulled her head from Jughead’s chest, now facing him. The corner of her lips let out out a slight curve as she looked into his eyes, his face is definitely something she would never get tired of. “Well, do I look okay to go back?”

“You always look beautiful,” Jughead started to blush, realizing what he was saying. He had never really explored his romantic side because he was always so closed off and never really liked anyone anyways. “I-I meant...That you always...Look good no matter what.”

Betty’s eyes sparkled as she slowly got up. Jughead felt the cold rush against his thighs. He stood up holding Betty’s hand. Once Betty and Jughead left the back room, Jughead heard a noise he would never get tired of. Her giggle. She saw her friends basically glued to the window trying to find her. “Jug look at them,” She said turning back, with her spirits starting to rise back to their usual.

As Jughead walked Betty out to the double doors to return to her friends, he squeezed and then released Betty’s hand from his.

“Are you sure you’re okay to go back with them?” This question made Betty turn around because of the sheer concern he had about her.

Betty walked up closer to him, “Yeah I have a piece of you with my anyways,” She bragged about his jacket that she was still wearing.

“Is that right? Will my jacket be enough for you to go on without me until Saturday?” Jughead said flirtatiously walking up to Betty.

“I don’t know,” She looked up, “Maybe I’ll invite you to hang with me and my friends. You could invite one of your friends.”

“Sure, text me.”

“Okay, bye Jughead,” Betty waved her hand goodbye, but Jughead quickly grabbed it.

“Wait,” Jughead said while bringing her hand down.

“What?” Betty looked into his eyes. Jughead gulped down his emotions and released her hand. 

He rested his left hand on her chin, while with his thumb, he wiped off any tears that were visible. “Okay you feel free to ditch me now,” He chuckled.

Betty went in for a quick embrace and then walked out to her friends that were clearly shocked about all the touching involved in their so called ‘friendship.’

Before they walked away, Betty watched Jughead slowly walk off back to his office with a smirk on his face. 

“Oh my god, he so likes you!” Toni exclaimed.

Betty cocked her head to the side and started smiling. Her face was flashing with fascia. 

“B, be honest with yourself. Would a guy hold your hand and romantically wipe away tears if he didn’t like you?” Veronica said glancing over to Betty with her ‘We both know better’ look and with a smirk on her face.

“No, he was probably being nice because I was a mess V and Toni. I mean...I was crying in his lap-”

“-In _ his  _ lap!?” Veronica exclaimed and Betty hid her face by breaking eye contact and looking to the floor.

“Yeah, but he heard all the things my mom said. Who wouldn’t sympathize those spiteful conversations?” Betty asked.

“No! Any other guy would have just given you a hug or would have been really awkward about it!” Toni’s eyes were wide open.

“Yeah, but...My mom’s worse than most moms,” Betty said while twisting a strand of her hair, one of her cute, nervous habits.

“He likes you. Did you see the way he held your hand? And wiped off your tears? Guys don’t do those kind of things unless they like someone!”

Betty looked up with her face a shade pinker and a smile, “Maybe he does like me.” Betty admitting that made her heart skip a beat. She thought,

_ Maybe, just maybe, he likes me. _

She would do anything for him to feel what she felt when she was around him; Butterflies, freedom, and a finally peaceful mindset.

Toni snapped Betty out of her thoughts when she called her name, “Betty?”

She shook her head, “Sorry, what?”

“You should invite him to go to Veronica’s party this Thursday!” Toni glanced over to see Veronica’s obvious agreement to that statement.

“Okay, fine.” Betty was trying to hide the excitement she had thinking about being able to hang out with him more.

“Swoooon!” Toni said in a sing songy voice.

Betty rolled her eyes and got out her phone. The girls were now in route to actually go shopping.

_ Hey Jughead, I was curious if you’d want to go to this party my friend’s having on Thursday. You can bring a friend, actually you should to avoid all the interrogation my friends probably have planned for you lol. _

_ Sure, might be a little late because of work. I’ll bring my friend Archie who might also interrogate you, my friend is a little to obsessed with my life so I apologize in advance haha. _

Betty smiled at the message Jughead had sent back. He wanted to go and mentioned his friend was as curious of her as her friends were of him. 

“He can come and he’s bringing a friend,” Betty said shyly.

“Good, now we can go by you a dress for the occasion!” Veronica smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad they're both there for each other even though they met so shortly ago and willing to be weak and venerable because that shows a lot of trust. Trust me you're going to get some bughead next chapter ;) Also can we just take a second to reflect on how protective Jughead is? Love it.


	8. Speculations and Regulations

“Hey,” Betty sweetly said as Jughead opened his apartment door. 

“Hey,” Jughead whispered, in awe of Betty’s outfit. She was wearing a blue low v-neck, silky romper. “You look beautiful, Betts,” Jughead said smirking, leading Betty into his nice apartment where his friend Archie was. 

Archie walked from the kitchen towards the two to greet Betty. Archie gave a warm smile, “Hi, I’m Archie, you must be Betty,” He shook Betty’s hand.

“I am, yeah. So anyways, my friend Toni is downstairs so we should probably get going.”

“Sure,” Jughead said, walking to the door.

Betty giggled, “Isn’t it funny that my friend who doesn’t live here is hosting a party?”

Archie chuckled, “Yeah how’s that working out?”

Jughead put his arm around Betty as they went to the elevator and she leaned her head against his warm arm. This didn’t go unnoticed by Archie and he shot a look to Jughead who rolled his eyes and ignored him.

“Well actually her parents, the Lodges, do a lot of business and are pretty wealthy…” She glanced over to Jughead, “But I...She’s not like that snobby rich girl, she’s really nice-”

“-I know Betts, we didn’t assume anything.” He said while squeezing her hand. Betty chuckled and sighed in relief. Archie was mentally taking notes on their like every movement.

“Anyways, her parents have like five mansions and one of them happens to be near here. She’s busy setting up, but my neighbor Toni and I are good friends. She’s bringing her boyfriend, Sweat Pea and it’ll be us three in the car.”

“Cool, so why did you move here?” Archie asked, wanting to know more about Betty’s background.

“What?” Betty asked, grabbing Jughead’s hand instead of going back to her bad habit.

“She’s from Riverdale and got a job offer from the Writing Center.”

Betty’s breathing became erratic as her anxiety was kicking in. She thought about why she really wanted to take that job and it was to get away from her psychotic mother and irrational sister. “Yeah,” Betty wiped back a tear that fled from her eye, “Uhm...It was a good opportunity to leave family too.”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Archie immediately said, not realizing she had family problems.

“No it’s fine, you didn’t know,” Betty sniffled. Jughead caressed her arm in circular motions which seemed to instantly calm Betty down. Betty chuckled, voice still sounding hoarse, “God, I’m sorry you’re first impression of me must be...Crazy.” Jughead’s brows furrowed. Crazy. He knew that deep down inside she felt self conscious about being anything like her family. 

Without hesitation Jughead said, “I’ve had my fair share of anxiety attacks in front of Archie,” Jughead chuckled, “Hell if anything he thinks I’m crazy.” Betty gave a warm smile and sympathetic, sorry look to Archie.

“It’s totally fine, you seem like a normal, caring person,” Archie said while waving his hands in the air, disregarding Betty’s anxiety attack. 

The elevator door opened and as they walked out of the lobby, Toni’s car was parked in front. She rolled down the window and chuckled, “I thought you guys kidnapped her or something.” Betty giggled and opened the back door for all of them to get into.

As they scooched into the back, Betty volunteered to go in the middle because she was the smallest. She warmly smiled to Sweat Pea who was in the front, “Hi I’m Toni’s friend-”

“Betty,” He shook Betty’s hand and chuckled, “If she’s not with me, she’s with you. I swear she’s dating you more than me.”

As Betty giggled, Toni smiled and playfully pushed him into his sweet as if she were offended. “Hey, babe what can I say? Betty and I have real chemistry,” Toni laughed. She turned her attention to Jughead before driving. 

“And you’re the guy who’s totally stealing my girlfriend,” Toni chuckled, “It’s nice to put a face to the name Jughead.”

Jughead chuckled and sarcastically said, “Just helping Sweet Pea out.”

They laughed and had small conversation throughout the car ride.

\--------

“B and Toni, heyyyyy!” Veronica said in a sing songy as she welcomingly hugged Betty and Toni before they could enter the house. 

As Betty pulled away she grabbed Jughead’s forearm, “This is Jughead.”

Veronica warmly smiled and chuckled, “Heard a lot about you.”

Jughead smirked and they entered the house. As the five entered, Veronica pulled Betty aside. “Who’s that redhead hottie?”

“That’s Archie, Jughead’s friend,” Betty answered.

“Mmmm, tonight I’m going to make him mine and you should do the same with Jughead.”

“Shhh!” Betty giggled, which made Jughead turn his attention across the room to see Betty being happy and laughing.

“Also…” Veronica smiled, “I might be moving here.”

“Oh my god, that’s amazing!” Betty went in for a quick embrace.

“Yeah, I talked to my parents and they said if I wanted to actually live  _ here  _ that it would be cool. Plus you know how I went to school for dermatology? Well there’s a couple places offering me jobs...And it’d be my first big job.”

“I’m so excited for you!”

“Okay well you should go talk to Archie...About Jughead and me,” Veronica laughed. “I doubt you wanna be there while Toni, Sweet Pea, and I interrogate him.”

“Oh my god, please don’t be too invasive!” Betty smiled.

Betty walked over to the four and joined in their conversation for a little bit until she asked, “Hey Archie would you mind helping me find the drinks?”

Archie said sure and gave Jughead a quick look almost warning him he was probably about to be swarmed with questions.

Archie lead Betty to the drinks room, “There seems to be every single type of alcohol here. What would you like?” 

“Oh,” Betty giggled, “Soda. I’m not much of a drinking person.”

Archie poured some ginger-ale and handed her the cup, “So how long have you and Jughead been friends.” He was trying to sound casual.

“A couple weeks,” Betty simpered.

“Where’d you guys meet again.”

Betty’s face started to match her pink lipstick and she chuckled, “I...Accidentally bumped into him and all my stuff fell.”

“Oh yeah,” Archie slyly said, “Have you guys hung out at all?”

“Well,” Betty stuttered, “A-A couple times. Just some brief conversations when I passed his office.”

“Mmm, he says a lot about you,” Archie smiled.

Betty’s face felt like it was burning, “That’s really nice of him-”

Archie cut her off, “-Yeah he really likes you.”

Betty nodded and then exclaimed, “Oh yeah! You should meet my friend Veronica, the host, she’s super nice.” Archie gave a nod.

Then Betty smiled, “He refuses to tell me...But I am literally dying to know. What’s is first name?”

Archie laughed, impressed with her curiosity of his friend, “He’s going to kill me...But”

\--------

“So Jughead…” Veronica smiled with a sly look in her eyes as she walked up to Toni, Sweet Pea, and Jughead.

Jughead turned his attention to Veronica, he had remembered her from the day Betty’s mom had called her. “That’s me,” He chuckled.

“How long have you been friends with Betty?” She asked looking to Toni who was smiling.

“Like two weeks. It’s not that long,” He shrugged.

‘Wow really?” Veronica asked playfully, “You guys seem so close for only two weeks.” She cocked her head to her side, a smile plastered on her face. Sweet Pea offered an empathetic look to Jughead because he knew the girls had a plan.

“Yeah,” Jughead nodded, “We are.”

Toni chimed in, “You know she says a lot about you.” This caused Jughead to have a slight amount of blush become visible on his cheeks.

“To be honest, I think you beat both of us in a matter of two weeks,” Veronica snickered.

“To be fair I work during the day almost daily, so I give you guys more than an equal amount of time for compete,” Jughead chuckled, taking a sip of his ginger-ale. He was never one to drink after he got a first hand view on how quickly it could break a family apart.

“Okay then you win, you can have her,” Veronica said cunningly. 

Jughead awkwardly shifted and then saw Betty and Archie walking up to them. He thought,

_ Thank god. _

Betty saw the relief on Jughead’s face at her presence, “Are my friends secretly that bad?” She giggled while going closer to Jughead and standing next to him.

“No,” Jughead said jokingly in a high-pitched voice.

Archie looked to Veronica and put out his hand for Veronica to shake. “Hi, I’m Archie.”

Jughead rolled his eyes to Betty about his friend’s obvious crush and Betty laughed. Betty pushed him jokingly, “Be nice!”

“Okay okay,” He mockingly moped, “I’ll behave myself.”

“Good,” Betty bit her lip, “Let’s go dance.”

“Oh no, I’m good,” He said firmly.

Betty batted her eyes as she reached for his hand, “Okay, fine!” Jughead huffed.

Archie was actually surprised at how easily Betty convinced him for how stubborn he usually was. He thought,

_ No matter how doubtful he’s going to act, she’s got him wrapped around her finger. _

Betty lead Jughead to the room where the music was the loudest.

As Betty stopped Jughead from walking further she asked, “Can you dance?”

Jughead scoffed mockingly, “Dance? Of course.”

Betty giggled and said, “Okay well if you don’t...You put her hands around my waist and I put my arms around your shoulders.”

Jughead smirked as he placed his hands on her waist, getting a good grip. Betty chuckled, “Yeah, like that.”

She started to place her hands around his broad shoulders. A new song played and Betty practically squealed in delight, “Oh my god this is such a cute song. It’s  _ In my life _ -”

“By the Beatles. It’s okay.”

Betty cocked her head to the side, “Okay? It’s the cutest song ever!”

“I guess,” Jughead said while he shifted his hands a little lower, sending butterflies through Betty’s body.

They swayed back and forth while Betty softly sang along with the lyrics, “I know I’ll often stop and think about them.”

Jughead smiled and laughed.

“What?” Betty asked as she stopped singing.

“Nothing,” Jughead replied.

“What? Tell me!” Betty said moving her head forward.

Jughead looked down to meet her eyes. Jughead nervously bit his lip as their heads both got closer. He was slowly giving in and leaning downwards while Betty was starting to reach on her tippy toes, her arms around Jughead started to tighten their grip. Betty was breathing heavily. Suddenly Betty jerked away when she saw Toni and her boyfriend approach them, yelling to them. “Hey guys!”

Betty turned to Toni, still unable to form sentences because her mind was still drifting off to what almost just happened,

_ Was he about to kiss me? Does he like me? At all? _

Toni paused in realization that she had just interrupted their potential moment. She looked over to Sweet Pea and held his hand. “Uhm,” She stopped herself from bugging them about what just happened, “I was just gonna say Archie and Veronica were doing seven minutes in heaven.”

Jughead released his hands off Betty and rolled his eyes, “Gross, I don’t want to be thinking about my friend’s sex life.”

Betty smiled with her hand still frozen around his neck.

“I-I’m sorry, we’ll leave you two alone,” Toni said leading Sweet Pea to go dance in a different location. 

Finally Betty snapped back out of the trance she had been in. She chuckled, “Uhm sorry, I have to go to the bathroom.”

Jughead promptly said, “Let me walk you there, there’s too many wasted people around here.”

Betty nodded and Jughead followed behind Betty as she navigated where the bathroom was.

Betty walked into the bathroom while Jughead waited outside. She grabbed out her phone and started to text Toni and Veronica,

_ Hey guys, Jughead and I are probably going to head home soon. We’ll grab a taxi, but I wanted to thank you guys for the night. Parties aren’t really my thing, sparks up my anxiety, but I had fun. Love you V and Toni. _

Betty reached into her mini  _ Pink Swirl Vera Bradley  _ purse and got out her  _ Divinedivine Retro Matte Liquid LipColour.  _ She colored her lips once again. Betty replenished any mascara that had come off with her mini mac one. She gave a small smile to the mirror before packing her makeup back up and walking out to meet Jughead.

“Can we ditch these drunk people and head back to my apartment? We could watch Netflix which, my opinion, is ten times better.”

“Sure, I’ll call a taxi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow what cuties. I'm super excited for the next chapter and I hope you guys are too because if you're a bughead shipper, the next chapter's one to remember ;) Anyways, I love their pushy friends who all know what's going down. Comment your predictions!


	9. Aspirations Of Love

“Okay okay,” Betty giggled, “I agree the David Harbour is one of my favorite actors.”

Jughead drowsily chuckled, “His ‘Eleven Audition’ is the funniest thing I’ve ever watched.”

Jughead was starting to get tired after watching some of the second season of  _ Stranger Things 2 _ . His eyes were closed and he was starting to drift of. He was no longer humming the intro with Betty. 

Betty glanced over to see his peaceful, resting body. He looked so perfect, like he had no worries for once. His heartbeat was steady and he had a slight smirk playing on his face. Betty was leaning onto him while watching still. Every couple minutes however, Betty would glance over to make sure Jughead was still comfortably sleeping. His jacket that she had taken was on the floor next to her. She decided to put it on herself while she continued to watch Netflix because it was slightly cold in her apartment.

After about thirty minutes later, Betty’s phone started to buzz. She pulled herself out of Jughead’s arm and reached over to the small coffee table, that was on the opposite side of the couch where she was. She picked up the phone and sat on the corner of the couch,

“Hey Toni, what’s up?” Betty asked.

“I’m just calling to check in since you left with Jughead...Everything good?” Toni asked caressingly, although she did have another plan behind just ‘Checking in.’

“Yeah, we’re all good. We...Well I’m watching Stranger Things, he fell asleep,” Betty said with a smile on her face.

“Why don’t you make a move? I promise after what I saw tonight he, without question, likes you,” Toni asked, attempting to sound casual.

“Toni! I’m not risking anything,” Betty replied sternly.

“But don’t you want to kiss him? Don’t you have that urge?”

“Of course,” Betty instantly whispered. “Of course I want to kiss him,” Betty wistfully admitted.

When she glanced over to the supposed sleeping Jughead, he stirred causing Betty’s heart to drop. She tried to ignore the possibility that he was awake, but her mind was already racing.

“Then do it girl...I-I gotta go,” Toni laughed while hanging up. Betty could tell Veronica had set up that call, she was very persistent with trying to make Betty happy. 

As Betty slowly put down the phone, she started to try and calm herself. For a couple seconds, heavy breathing did the trick. 

Until she really looked at Jughead. She could see and hear that his breathing was uneven. That meant his heart wasn’t beating at a constant rate which always occurs when someone's sleeping. She could tell his palms were sweaty. She just had this feeling in her gut that he was awake.

Suddenly, Jughead’s loud ringer went off and basically confirmed that he had been awake. He battered his eye and quickly navigated his phone that was on the front, large coffee table where he had been resting his feet. 

He picked it up and focused his blurry vision to the contact name. “It’s my sister, should I go or…” He asked. Betty’s heart was pounding. He was nervous. She questioned herself,

_ Why else would he be nervous? _

“Uhhh,” Betty stuttered, “You-You can stay…” She shook her head, “Or leave. Whatever you want.”

Jughead nodded, avoiding all eye contact and quickly stood up. He walked to the door and put his phone to his ear. 

“What Jellybean?”

“I just wanted to talk,” Jellybean simply stated.

He scoffed, “Oh yeah now you do.”

“I do,” She insisted.

“Okay what do you want to talk about?” Jughead angrily said, it was evident he was bothered by something.

“How’s it going with that girl?” Jellybean asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“I don’t know, I think I fucked things up. You know, the good old Jones way,” Jughead said fighting back a tear.

“Jughead, what is it? What did you do? What’s wrong?” She asked, worrying about why he was so upset over her.

“I don’t even know,” He sighed and then sniffled. He was walking towards the stairwell. “I should have made a move and I didn’t because I freaked out. I just think I ruined it.”

“Hey,” Jellybean said comfortingly, “All you have to do is tell her how you feel.”

“I can’t. I literally left her apartment because you were calling me. I don’t know what to do,” Jughead opened the stairwell door.

“Kiss her,” Jellybean instantly replied, seriously.

“What?” Jughead asked shaking his head, as he leaned against the wall.

“Kiss her,” She repeated.

“Oh god,” Jughead sighed.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know how to kiss because-” She said jokingly, but still in a serious tone.

“-That’s not it.”

“Jughead, dad just got home and I gotta go, but I’m serious. If you think you have a future with Betty, you could change the Jones’ legacy because you’re not anything like them.” She hung up the phone and Jughead placed his phone in his pocket. 

He focused his attention to what he was going to do. He refused dig his fingers into his hands, so instead he places his fingers flat against his palms, making himself unable to hurt himself.

\--------

Betty started to close the door disappointedly. As the door closed, she hit her back against it, silently punishing herself for saying something like that in front of him when she had already assumed he didn’t like her back. She looked at her apartment, blinking back down the tears that had started to form in the corner of her eyes. Betty slowly started to slide to the floor, as she leaned on the door. She sat there for a couple minutes. After inhaling and exhaling loudly, her heart started to control her.

She quickly turned back around and grabbed a pair of pink slippers that she had next to the door on a little shoe shelf. She slammed her door open, and ran to the staircase entrance, leaving her apartment door open. 

Betty clumsily opened the door into the stairwell area, walked to the staircase, and looked down them to see no Jughead. If he had walked down the stairs, he was already gone. 

Betty turned around, her hands behind her grabbing the staircase and hallway banister defeatedly letting out a sigh until her eyes focused on the wall that she didn’t even bother to acknowledge before because her mind was going crazy.

There was Jughead, watching his fingers lay flat against his palms making him unable to curl them. He was pondering deeply, so he hadn't realized that Betty had walked in.

Betty sighed in relief, “Jug, listen…” She called out. Jughead shot up from his hands, releasing them. He looked sincere about whatever her was thinking.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel-” But Betty was interrupted by Jughead, hastily walking up to her and leaning his neck down so his lips could finally meet hers.

Betty gasped in his mouth, surprised by his decision, but clearly happy. One of her hands went straight up to his cheek while her other creeped up his neck, grabbing his luscious curls and running her hands through them. Jughead smiled as he kissed her and then gently pressed Betty against the banister, making her slightly stumble backwards a couple steps, quickly eliminating any room that was in between them.

Jughead’s hand slid under her jacket and onto waistband on her romper. His hands went from her waist to her back, holding her firmly not wanting to ever let go of the grip he had on her. Betty swiftly unbuttoned the top button on his  _ Polo Shirt. _

That is until Betty heard clacking and clicking coming from the lower stairs, on their way to her level. She jolted back from Jughead’s face, breathing heavy and still in his arms. It was Betty’s neighbor.

Betty’s face flashed of fascia as her hands fell to Jughead’s waist. Jughead left his arms around Betty and pulled them into an embrace. “Hi Mrs. Robinson,” Betty shyly and quietly said as the woman gave a disappointed nod and walked off through the hallway, leaving them alone in the stairwell. 

Betty’s tucked her head into Jughead’s chest as she caught her breath. Jughead admired how bashful she was for another person to see their intimacy. She pulled away out of the embrace after a couple of seconds. 

As Betty went and opened the door she had a sly, yet innocent smile plastered on her face. Her cheeks were still tinging pink.

Betty bit her lower lip as she said, “Goodbye Forsythe,” And she slipped behind the door, letting it close for Jughead to be left alone in thought once again.

Jughead smiled to himself with curiosity wondering how she had found out his name. His hair and shirt were ruffled up. Jughead leaned against the banister, he felt relaxed. He had finally got that off his chest and god knows how long he had wanted to do that for. It was like Betty was this one thing in his life that could never bring him down no matter what.

Jughead was startled when his phone started to ring, he had been too busy thinking about the trace of Betty’s lips that were once tracing his.

“What?” Jughead blissfully asked before Jellybean even said anything. 

“I just wanted to know if it worked,” Jellybean giggled.

“I’m not telling you about this, god I don't think I'm ever calling you again,” Jughead said while wiping the tinted lip gloss Betty had ever so gracefully left on his lips.

Jellybean let out a satisfied sigh, “So it did?”

“...Yeah,” Jughead shook his head, in disbelief he was telling his fifteen year old sister these things.

“Was it PG thirteen?” She asked curious of her brother’s actions, she had never really seen his romantic side growing up because he never had one. She was unaware he could have one.

Jughead froze. He wasn’t about to really tell his nosy sister what it was like. Would it be best to tell her that his hands were practically all over her and that she had started to undress him from his shirt? Or that it was his first kiss that he genuinely thought he had a future with? He immediately ruled out that was probably not the best idea. Jellybean could sense the pause. “Uhhhh, yeah.”

Jellybean giggled slightly intrigued and disgusted. “I told you it would didn’t I?” She beamed.

“I’m literally never calling you again. That wasn't a lie,” Jughead sarcastically said as he ended the call. He appeasingly started to make his way down to the lobby, passing Toni who’s boyfriend had just dropped her off.

“Hey, Jughead,” She said causing Jughead to move his attention towards her. He stopped walking and Toni's lips started to form a crooked smile, “I thought you were sleeping.”

Jughead shook his head, “Yeah I was.”

Toni cocked her head to the side with a intrusive smile on her face as she examined Jughead’s appearance. She had instantly noticed the lipstick on his lower lip, messed up hair, and shirt. “Had some fun didn’t you?” Toni said with fabricated shock in her voice.

Jughead glanced down as he brushed a hand through his hair, “Listen…”

Toni put up her hand and chuckled, “Like you said earlier, I don’t want to know about my friend’s sex life.”

Jughead’s face starting flashing fascia. “No, no, we didn’t have sex. God,” His eyes widened.

“Oh,” Toni said in relief that Jughead wasn’t one of those guys who only sleeps with someone he had just met. “But you’re together?” She asked trying to get Jughead to admit he had been locking lips with a certain Betty Cooper.

Jughead turned his head as he snapped, “Damn, it’s late. Guess you’ll have to talk to Betty yourself.” Jughead continued to walk out of the lobby and to his apartment.

\-------

Toni let herself into Betty’s apartment because she had given her an extra set of keys.

Betty was in the kitchen helping herself to a late night snack. She was listening to music and swaying her head to the beat. When Betty heard her own apartment door click closed, she gasped started and then when she saw it was only Toni, she gave a little chuckle.

“Toni, what are you doing here?” Betty’s brows furrowed although her luminous smile was still evident.

“I came to be your wingman, but apparently I’ve seen that you don’t need one,” Toni said with a slight angry tone that Betty hadn’t called her after they kissed.

“What?” Betty pursed her lips.

“I saw Jughead in the lobby and I’m impressed,” Toni said, eyes widening.

Betty continued to make her apples and peanut butter. As Betty was slicing an apple and avoiding eye contact, she said, “Why?”

“You enticed him for more of whatever he got a taste of,” Toni giggled.

Betty looked up in shock that her friend was being so honest right now, but that didn’t stop her. She wasn’t the one who would do anything if Betty was even remotely close to him, Veronica would have flipped as well. Actually, Betty expected Veronica to freak tomorrow morning.

“That look doesn’t work for me...Did you guys actually sleep together?” Toni wanted to verify Jughead’s information.

Betty shook her head, “No, we just kissed.”

Toni walked up to Betty with a sly smile on her face, wanting to know all the details. She nudged her, “Where’d all your lipstick rub off to?”

Betty rolled her eyes, “I told you we kissed.”

“How’d it happen Betty! I wanna know everything, I swear you guys are so cute.”

“Well…” Betty took a bite of her apple slice, making Toni anticipate Betty’s actions even more, “He was awake when you called because two seconds later when his phone went off he left.”

“Oh my god, I already love this,” Toni said, stealing an apple from her.

Betty’s cheeks tinged with pink, “And I waited like three minutes trying to calm down, but then I got this crazy feeling that he liked me...So I went to the stairwell and I couldn’t find him.”

Toni’s eyes were following Betty’s hand movement, she was so interested in her life, she was definitely like Veronica in that sense.

“And I turned around and he was leaning against the wall…” Betty’s face was now flashing fascia, “And I started to say it was okay if he didn’t have feelings for me, but...He interrupted me.”

Toni had a huge smile on her face, “Otp, I ship so hard.”

Betty giggled looking down, “No please.”

“Bughead. It’s bughead,” Toni giggled.

“Oh!” Betty exclaimed while putting down the knife, “His real name's Forsythe. I got Archie to admit that at the party. He said I’m not allowed to tell him, but I kinda did.”

“Forsythe Jones. That actually sounds sounds…”

“Hot?” Betty asked, surprising herself with her honesty.

“Well he’s your boyfriend so….”

Betty giggled as her face reddened. “Anyways, I’m going to bed, but you can sleep over.”

Toni smiled, “Okay you can go dream about him. The way you probably-”

“-Nope, nope, nope,” Betty interjected, “I don’t dream about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh you guys ;) ;) ;) ;) Y'all knew it was about to go down!!!!! I love them so much, I swear. Anyways, I love their nosy friends because it makes everything even more cute. I'm glad Jughead made the right decision, thanks to his sister. He'll probably regret that one for a while. Anyways, I can't wait to see their relationship develop and super, super meddling friends next chapter ;)


	10. A Walk In The Park

While Betty and Toni were scrambling around the kitchen to make breakfast, Betty’s doorbell rang. She was hoping that somehow it’d be Jughead and she’d be able to kiss her again, but it was her friend Veronica.

As Veronica walked through the entrance, she had a smile plastered on her face, “So what was it like?”

Betty chuckled, “What like?”

“The make out session with  _ Forsythe Jones _ , duh,” Veronica implied she know all the information. It had been passed from Toni to Veronica while she was sleeping.

“Did he hold you like-”

“-V!” Betty exclaimed.

“No, I’m actually curious,” Veronica said innocently. “Back to what I was saying...Was it like a hold or carrying? I mean like how romantic are we talking?”

Betty’s face, and body for that matter, were getting as pink as her sweaters from high school days. “Uhmmm.”

“Betty Cooper had a lot of fun last night huh?” Veronica’s interest piqued at how bashful Betty was being.

“I was leaning against the banister,” Betty shyly smirked, “And he just walked up and kissed me.”

“Hmmm,” Veronica started, “ _ Very, very hot _ . I kinda see that side on him, not that he shows it. “I’ve also heard you acquired some moves.”

Betty blushed even more, “Oh god.”

“No no no. I’m just curious how it felt after you finally got to run your hands through those gorgeous locks,” Veronica said not expecting an answer.

Betty just smiled and ignored Veronica’s inquisitive taunting, “Would you like some breakfast? I’m sure you need it after partying so hard with Archie.”

Veronica giggled and nodded. “But this isn’t about me. We already can assume that. You never tell me about your love life, I need in.”

Suddenly, Betty had this moment in realization. Her smile dropped, “Oh my god,”

“What? What’s wrong? You finally got your prince charming!” Veronica said frustrated that something was once again bothering Betty.

“It’s my mom. She’s going to disown me. She literally said ‘No boyfriends.’ She’ll know if I’m lying,” Betty worriedly said.

“Thanksgiving is coming up. When you go home, bring him. Tell your mom in advance that he’s an author, but in person when she asks if he’s actually successful, lay it on her,” Veronica suggested as she grabbed the plate of eggs and toast Betty had made for her.

“Oh, and then a romantic kiss to make her uncomfortable,” Toni chimed in.

Betty nodded and then sighed.

“What is it?” Veronica instantly asked.

“I just don’t know if it’ll work with her,” Betty said stiffly.

“Well you don’t have to listen to anything she says anymore B, that’s why you moved. Plus, I think he’s really good for you and you can’t break that because of your disapproving mother,” Veronica comfortingly stated.

Betty shrugged and focused her attention back to cutting her toast. Then, the doorbell rang which caught Betty off guard. “Ah,” She cried out. Betty had cut the tip of her pointer finger with the knife when the doorbell rang.

Veronica immediately asked, “B you okay?”

Betty nodded as she walked to the door, pressing her pointer finger against her thumb in attempt to stop the bleeding. 

“Who is it?” Toni called from the kitchen as Betty opened the front door. “Oh,” Betty let out a relieved sigh. She wasn’t expecting anyone and her anxiety always made her mom a possibility to come and trash her in person. 

“Morning,” Jughead smirked with vitality in his voice. He couldn’t help, but feel blissful about seeing Betty. She looked beautiful early in the morning.

Betty was shaking her hand, trying to ignore the pain. “Good morning Jug?” Betty asked slightly confused as to why he had come this early. Their work at the Writing Center didn’t start for another hour and she hadn’t asked him to come.

“Just thought I could walk you to work,” Jughead said, almost reading her mind. He looked down and his brows furrowed, “Paper cut?”

Betty chuckled, “Well it’s more like a knife cut, but it’s as thin as a paper cut.”

Jughead caressingly grabbed Betty’s hand and she held her hand out for him to examine her little cut. Betty liked this new boyfriend caring thing. It made her heart beat a little faster.

He held her finger up to his mouth and licked the small cut, taking away the blood, and then took Betty’s hand back down to her waist, where she had positioned it before. He pressed her small finger against his palm, Betty’s other fingers clutching into a ball so Jughead could be protective over her tiny cut.

He looked up and met Betty’s eyes, “Be careful.”

“Mmm,” Betty said mockingly as she intertwined her fingers with his. It was like Jughead’s hand were made to fit with hers. She led him into the kitchen with her friends.

“Do you think Betty’s gonna survive?” Toni sarcastically said because of the consideration Jughead put towards Betty’s cut.

“Come on Toni! He’s her boyfriend, of course he’s going to be protective,” Veronica said with a sly smile forming on her face.

Jughead’s cheeks started to tinge with pink as Betty looked up to him and smiled and then leaned herself against his chest while she watched Veronica attempt to pack up her breakfast for her and Jughead. If Betty was being honest, she made extra breakfast because she was planning to go to Jughead’s apartment anyways.

Betty was wearing a pair of high waisted, light blue jeans with a purple, shoulderless bell-sleeve top. Jughead reached one of his hands to her shoulders, and caressed her revealed shoulder in circular motions. Betty instantly smiled and adjusted her shoulder so Jughead could feel more comfortable. After a couple of minutes of small conversation, Betty stepped forward causing a gust of wind to cover Jughead’s upper body and Betty’s back. “I need to go grab my heels, I’ll be back,” Betty said while walking to her bedroom.

As soon as Betty entered her room, Veronica and Toni face him. Veronica cocked her head to the side and look at Jughead. She crossed her arms and as that devious smile appeared on her face, Veronica said, “How was it to lock lips with my best friend last night. I heard you’re  _ very  _ romantic.”

Jughead shook his head as his face flashed of fascia, “Do you guys always interrogate her boyfriends like this?”

Veronica glanced to Toni and then back to him, “Well you happen to be the first adversary that’s serious and worth my time.”

“What?” Jughead said with a chuckle, surprised she hadn’t had any other serious boyfriends. I mean, he couldn’t actually believe it because Betty was so beautiful. His eyes widened, “She hasn’t dated any other guys seriously?”

“Oh Jones...Aren’t you lucky,” Toni mocking said.

Betty walked out with her black, suede boots with heels and her favorite jacket that she had gotten on the first night Betty and Jughead had talked. “Okay, ready.” Jughead actually smiled to see Betty take so much importance to one of his denim jackets.

Betty walked over to Veronica and grabbed her  _ Pink Swirl Vera Bradley _ lunch box, “Thank you for packing everything V!”

They walked out of the door and down the hallway.

“Aren’t they so adorable?” Toni asked.

“They’re literally soulmates. I can’t believe they only met a couple weeks ago,” Veronica said in awe of their relationship. 

\--------

Jughead and Betty were walking down Lafayette street. Jughead had his arm around Betty’s arm, but Betty wasn’t saying anything.

“So I was talking to your friends....” Jughead smirked which automatically brightened Betty’s mood.

“I can only imagine what they said,” Bety chuckled.

“Yeah they told me this crazy thing. That your twenty-six and I’m your first serious boyfriend,” Jughead said while he caressed Betty’s arm in circular motions.

Betty looked up to Jughead’s eyes and her cheeks started to tinge pink. Their eyes met and then closed as their lips met. Betty raised herself onto her tippy toes and her arms raised to rest on his shoulders as Jughead held her waist.

After a couple seconds, Betty pulled away with a small smile on her face because of the kiss. “Has it ever felt like that?”

Jughead looked at Betty as his bit his lower lip, licking his lower lip to take of the lipstick Betty had left on his face. He was still breathing heavy from their kiss. Jughead reached for Betty’s hand.

“That’s what I wanted to feel with someone,” Betty said as they started to walk down the street again. “It’s like the first kiss, but you want it again and again for the rest of your life. Sometimes you feel like it’s this one thing keeping you going. It works like oxygen and you need it to live. It’s like a breath of fresh air.

Jughead smiled as he intertwined his fingers with hers, “Like you get addicted to it without even realizing.” Betty smiled and leaned against Jughead’s side.

Although Betty had on a smile, she wasn’t talking very much. Jughead could tell there was something wrong. He didn’t want to ask her in public, for fear it was something really bad that she was just good at concealing. When they finally reached the building, Jughead opened the doors for Betty and followed her into her own room. He still had enough time to talk to her because they were early.

As they sat down at a table in Betty’s room, she grabbed her lunch box and took out the still warm breakfast she had made.

Jughead didn’t start to eat however, he was watching Betty tap her fingers against the table. Jughead grabbed her hand with both of his, “Betty what is it? You’ve been upset this morning.”

Betty chuckled as tears started to form in the corner of her eyes, “It’s like we finally got our moment and I swear I’ve been wanting that forever with you.” She let out another sad chuckle, “I can’t even explain how happy I am that we left the party. And when you touch me it’s like I feel like there’s nothing else I would want. I don’t know it’s stupid, but I don’t want to lose you because of my mom...Or some stupid argument. Mainly my mom.”

Jughead had been watching Betty with caring or understanding eyes. In a low whisper, Jughead said, “Betts I don’t care what your mom says. I’m not going to leave you because of something she says…” Jughead put a small smirk on his face, “And I’m sure as hell not letting you breakup with me.”

Betty smiled as she sniffled. “On a brighter note,” She began, “I know she probably won’t approve of anything I do. But, I was curious if you’d be able to…” Betty stuttered, once again nervous around Jughead, “I-I know that we just met like a couple weeks a-ago, but I was curious if you wanted to come home with me for Thanksgiving,” She sighed, “I can’t go alone.” That singular statement is probably what convinced Jughead the most besides that he was basically wrapped around Betty’s finger.

He squeezed her hands, “I think I would have invited myself if you didn’t ask. You don’t have to do these things alone anymore. Okay?”

“Okay,” Betty sniffled.

“Hey,” Jughead said with a smirk as he looked in Betty’s eyes, “You’re not alone.”

Betty pulled her lips into a weak, yet soft smile, “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me for being your boyfriend,” Jughead lightly chuckled.

Betty was about to say something as there was a knock at her door. She groaned and rolled her eyes as she released Jughead’s hand. It was Cheryl, the manger at NYU Writing Center. “Okay, take your breakfast, but Cheryl’s probably gonna grind me to shreds right now.”

“What? Why?” Jughead’s brows furrowed.

Cheryl opened the door with a fake smile covering her red, malicious lips, “Oh sorry, am I interrupting your work...Or is Jughead interrupting your work?”

Jughead turned in shock at her statement and was about to say something, but Betty interrupted his thoughts, pulling on his arm, “Jug, it’s a long story that I’ll tell you after work. Don’t get worried, I’ll be fine.”

“Fine,” Jughead mumbled as he gently pulled on her arm, making Betty lean onto his body. 

Her lips tinged pink as she whispered to his ear, “What’s this for?”

Jughead embraced Betty, pulling his arms around her, with all his heat projecting onto Betty. He smirked, “Getting through the day and preventing me from killing her.”

He leaned his head down and pursed his lips as they met Betty’s. His hands dropped from the hug, down to her waist, making Cheryl shift in discomfort. After a couple seconds, Jughead pulled away.

“Was that to make Cheryl uncomfortable or make me happy?” Betty asked with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Both,” Jughead smirked as he left Betty’s side and walked right past Cheryl on the way to the door, watching Cheryl acting disgusted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we'll see some background on Cheryl's character because it's different than the show (duh). Anyways I love Veronica so much in the story, like yes girl get all the details ;) Jughead's such a sweetheart in disguise, I love it. Next chapter we'll have even more bughead, I'm so glad they're finally together so I can finally write about their relationship as a couple. Also, a little warning for next chapter: Cheryl is going to say some things that even I had a hard time writing, but don't worry because everything will be fine in the end!


	11. Relationships And Residence

“Wow shacking it up with an author, I didn’t know you were that desperate sister,” Cheryl said with a demeaning look, glancing over Betty’s body.

“Just because my mom was kind enough to adopt your tragic self after your mom left to become a stripper because of your insane father Cheryl, does not mean you’re entitled to slut shame me, as a ‘sister.’ Like it or not, I’m not quitting,” Betty snapped back, causing Cheryl to furrow her brows because she wasn’t expecting an actual reply back.

“Furthermore, if you’re looking to call someone desperate,” Betty said narrowing her eyes, “All you have to do is look in the mirror.”

“You’re a stone cold bitch Betty Cooper,” Cheryl said, eyes narrowing back, challenging her.

“They didn’t let you know they were hiring me did they?” Betty said with a coy smile on her face.

Cheryl sighed, “Yeah, I fired them. Can you believe they went behind my back and hired such a slut?”

Betty rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Slut? Really? That’s all you could think of?”

“Well I don’t know why you come here and suddenly date this  _ rich  _ author whose book has made millions. Are you that desperate to get laid or that desperate to get money?” Cheryl snarled, causing Betty to start tracing the crimson crescent scars that had almost always been a part of her. She shook her head and stopped herself. Instead, Betty laid her fingers flat against her palms so she would be unable to dig her fingers in. 

Betty gave a devious chuckle, “Sounds like you’re jealous Cheryl.”

Cheryl huffed and turned around to exit Betty’s room, her heels clacking against the floor as she rampaged out of the room. Betty rolled her eyes and went back to sit down in her chair, waiting for her student to arrive.

Betty heard a small knock on her door, it was her student.

“Come in,” Betty smiled, “Rachel how was your workload last week?”

“Good,” Rachel nodded as she went to unpack her bags and place her printed documents on the table.

\--------

“What’s Cheryl’s deal?” Jughead said while walking Betty back to his apartment. His arm was around her shoulders.

“She’s my sister,” Betty smiled, knowing Jughead would be confused at how they were sisters.

“What? How?” Jughead shook his head with a smirk on his face.

“Her brother got murdered in high school…” Betty started, “And it turned out to be his dad.”

Betty gave a proud smile, “Veronica and...Well mostly I, solved it. And he hung himself after word got out. Her mom had a mid-life crisis and started to basically sell off her body. My mom doesn’t even recognize her as her child, but she adopted Cheryl so she could live in the guest rooms the nights she didn’t want to be home,” Betty shrugged. “I mean her life was just as messed up as mine, but there’s no reason to hate everyone for it.”

Jughead glanced down, “You’re guilt tripping me into feeling bad.” He still had a smirk on his face though.

“You won’t anymore,” Betty quietly said. “Not after she said I was dating you for the sex and money.” Jughead’s face became pensive.

Jughead stopped walking and Betty turned to him. “We both know you’re not,” Jughead reassured her.

“She called me a slut,” Betty self consciously stated.

“Betty, please don’t ever believe her. You’re not anything like that,” Jughead reached for Betty’s hand and intertwined their fingers. He squinted his eyes closed, “How do you even deal with all these people?”

Betty cocked her head to the side as a smirk arose from her morse face, “I don’t really know how I did for so long, but now I do. His name starts with an F, any guesses?”

Jughead smiled, “Who ever could he be?”

“I’ll show you,” Betty slowly said as she leaned up to give Jughead a kiss. 

He gave out another one of his radiant smiles once Betty pulled away, “He seems like a really great guy.”

Betty giggled and playfully pushed Jughead as he put his arm around her once again.

\--------

“Do you want a snack?” Jughead said, walking over to his kitchen, throwing his wallet on the counter, as Betty remained unlacing her boot heels at the entrance.

Betty gave a warm smile, “Sure.”

Jughead smirked while reaching into one of the cabinets for peanut butter, “Your favorite’s apples with peanut butter right?”

“Yep,” Betty chimed in. She chuckled as she reached next to her shoes to grab his satchel that he had thrown on the ground.

When Jughead was done making snacks, he returned to the couch where Betty had already plopped down. She had to admit she was tired from work and her fight with Cheryl. When Jughead sat next to her, almost instinctively, Betty moved her drowsy body on top of his, resting her head on his lap.

Jughead wasn’t really tired. Last night he had been able to fall asleep early knowing that he had finally clenched his urge of kissing Betty. Besides his sister and reading, she was one of the only things on his mind. He smirked while looking at Betty’s sleeping self. She had this weird trance on Jughead that he couldn’t understand, her presence just illuminated his life. During the ups and downs, god knows how many there are in their lives.

After about forty-five minutes, Betty woke up and battered her eyes awake as she quickly remembered that she was laying in Jughead’s lap.

Jughead chuckled, “Look who finally decided to wake up. I was debating on eating all your apples, but I didn’t.”

Betty gave a half-asleep smile as she sat up. She looked over to the counter and saw that Jughead did only eat half of the snack. She grabbed an apple and attempted to draw her attention to the TV. Jughead had been watching the last couple episodes of  _ Stranger Things 2.  _ They had been rewatching the season.

“What time is it?” Betty sweetly whispered as she wiped her eyes.

“Almost seven,” Jughead gave Betty a crooked smile.

“What? Is it my bedhead?” Betty asked because of Jughead’s amused grin.

“Although you look gorgeous with all of your fly-aways, I wasn’t making fun of you,” Jughead chuckled.

“Why are you smiling? Is my makeup smeared or something?” Betty continued to ask about herself.

“No...” Jughead simply stated. His smirk turning into a smile. “I just don’t know if I’d be able to look that hot after sleeping,” Jughead flirtatiously said as his hands started to amble towards Betty.

“Oh, is that so?” Betty asked while tucking a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail behind her ear.

Jughead wrapped his arms around Betty’s back while kissing her sweetly. Betty returned the favor, tilting her head to the right so her lips could convene with his. After a couple seconds, Betty turned her body so could climb into Jughead’s lap. Betty giggled while breathing heavy, from the kissing. Jughead smiled as he kissed her, he loved her laugh. 

Jughead’s hands clasped onto the seam of Betty’s shirt, around the waist, playing with the end of her bell-sleeve top. Betty grasped onto Jughead’s jacket, pulling him closer. She then heaved off his jacket onto the other side of the couch and was playing with his curls once again. 

Jughead pepper-kissed Betty slowly down her neck, but after a couple seconds he pulled away and in a whisper said, “Betty…”

“What? What is it?” Betty asked, breathing heavily. After Jughead didn’t reply, she opened her eyes and met his anxious eyes.

“I just...Please don’t get me wrong, I love this,” Jughead sighed as his hands held her back, “But can we wait for our first time?” He seemed almost apprehensive that Betty was going to get upset.

Betty let out a relieved chuckle, “Wait, you haven’t had sex either?”

“I mean, yeah I’ve had girlfriends for prolonged amount of times, but I’ve never liked them enough to...I just,” He shook his head bashfully, “I don’t know, want it to be special and at the right time.”

Betty smiled and her hands went to rest themselves on his broad shoulders, “Sometimes you surprise me Forsythe.” Betty chuckled, “I’m so glad you want to wait.”

Jughead gave Betty an affectionate smile. Betty looked into his glistening eyes and remained sitting on top of him.

Jughead’s eyes narrowed as his grin turned into a sly smile, “You’re not moving.” 

Betty returned the look and drawled out her words as her hands pulled him closer, “Maybe I don’t want to move.”

Jughead chuckled and pulled his lips towards her. This time they were kissing chastely, however Betty was still in Jughead’s lap. Both of their hands were on each other’s cheeks.

Abruptly, Archie slammed into Jughead’s apartment causing both Betty and Jughead to quickly turn to the door.

Without Archie noticing at first he started to say, “Bro you-” He stopped himself. His eyes widened as he saw Betty in his lap, “-Oh god, sorry.”

Betty lightly chuckled and as her cheeks tinged with pink. Both knew that no amount of explanation would be able to stop the two from thinking what they were thinking. It looked  _ too  _ intimate. She remained in Jughead’s lap, almost frozen with shock that he had just walked in on them. However, they had both jolted their hands down from each others. 

Jughead rolled his eyes as he departed his attention from Betty to Archie. “Have you ever heard of knocking?” Jughead scoffed.

“What?” Veronica walked into the doorframe and her eyes opened as wide as Archie’s. She chuckled, “You see...I had told him to knock.”

Betty’s brows furrowed, “Veronica?” She bafflingly asked as she moved from Jughead’s lap to the other side of the couch.

“Uhmmm,” Archie was trying to think of something to say, but he honestly had no words. He never really imagined himself being in that position. He never thought he’d catch his best friend with a girlfriend.

“We’re sorry,” Veronica said, speaking on behalf of Archie. “You-you can continue,” Veronica said wide eyed, pointing her hand to them trying to make the situation less awkward, “We can-will leave.”

Jughead looked unamused, “No, no please come in.”

Betty loved how upset Jughead got over this, she had to admit it was adorable.

Archie gave Veronica an unconvinced look, as if he though Jughead would kill him, but Veronica gave him a stern glance and grabbed his hand. She lead him to the kitchen.

“So…You two are dating...” Archie stated, in attempt to make this any less awkward, but of course it didn’t work.

Veronica nudged him, “Yeah, but they’ve basically been dating since they’ve met, we all know that.”

Archie was having trouble withdrawing the stunned look that plastered his face. He was certain his friend hadn't been this romantic before. 

“Archie can you wipe that dumbfounded look off your face?” Jughead asked.

“Sorry I just…” Archie chuckled, “I’ve never even seen you kiss someone in front of me.” Veronica shot him a powerful glare and his face went back to its neutral profile.

Jughead rolled his eyes and put his arm around Betty and she scooted over to him, their heat from their sides exchanging with each other. Then, Jughead wiped the lipstick that had been smeared onto his lips.

“Soooo,” Veronica started in a sing songy voice, “What are you guys going to be doing for Thanksgiving?”

Betty excitedly said, “Jughead’s actually coming with me back to Riverdale.” She glanced over to Jughead and her ecstatic and incandescent persona made Jughead give her a reluctant smile.

He looked over to Archie, now less agitated, “How about you guys? Together or departing separate ways?"

Veronica grabbed Archie’s hand and smiled, “Archie invited me to go back to his hometown in California...Which is also where your family lives right Jughead?”

Betty could tell Veronica had unintentionally made him uncomfortable with her question. She raised her hand towards Jughead’s that he had placed around her shoulder and intertwined their fingers. With a small smile Betty said, “Yeah, they were on different sides of the town and met when he transferred over to Archie’s school.” She squeezed his hand and gave him a quick peck on his cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm so I know the Cheryl stuff was intense, but you have to admit I definitely made it up to you ;) I can't wait for you guys to read the next chapters where Jughead and Betty are together at her hometown!


	12. Comfort With The Inevitable Haul Home

Soon enough the end of November had creeped its way through. Betty was grabbing her last bags while Jughead was patiently waiting for her at the doorway of her bedroom.   
  


His arms were stretched out to the sides of the doorframe. The only bag Betty had left was her backpack, she hauled it onto one of her shoulders. As Betty started to approach Jughead, he didn’t budge for her to move out of his way..

Betty had noticed that his bicep muscles were sticking out. She stopped and gazed for a moment then slightly shook her head back into reality. Jughead smirked as Betty’s hand started to unhurriedly descend down to his forearm which also was very buff. Eventually Betty’s hand fit with Jughead’s. She intertwined their fingers and then leaned up on her tippy toes to reach his pursed lips. Jughead had a small smile gracing on his face as he kissed her back.

Betty released their hands and put her arms around Jughead’s shoulder and his hands dropped to her waist. With a sporadic whisper, Jughead whispered, “We should get going.” 

“Mmmm, probably.”

Betty’s bathroom banged open, causing Betty to practically jump out of Jughead’s arms. It was Veronica, she wanted to say goodbye to her best friend and wish her luck. She knew it was going to be hard.The bathroom was perpendicular to Betty’s room that they were it.

Veronica immediately closed her eyes and in a chuckle said, “God, I’m so sorry. In my defense it’s getting hard to not walk in on you guys.”

Betty rolled her eyes and shot Veronica a powerful glance, making Jughead smirk as he grabbed Betty’s backpack to hold it himself.

“Okay, thanks for babysitting us Veronica, but we need to get going,” Jughead sarcastically said.

“My pleasure,” Veronica chuckled while saluting. She then had a sincere look cover her face as she went to embrace Betty, “B, have some fun okay?”

Veronica nodded and then released their hug, “Okay I’m handing you back to Jughead.”

Betty cocked her head to the side, nudging Jughead’s shoulder lightly. He put his arm around Betty’s waist and the exited from the house. Veronica had went opposite ways to meet up with Toni and they had went down the other direction of the hallway, to the elevators.

Betty let out a sigh while waiting for the elevator to descend to the lobby.

Jughead squeezed Betty’s waist gently, “Remember Betts, you’re not alone and you won’t be alone, ever.”

Betty pulled her lips into a small smile while her anxiety started to consume her.

Once Betty and Jughead had gotten in her car, Betty decided it would be best if Jughead drived because he wanted Betty to rest. 

Before driving, Jughead glanced over to Betty, he could tell she was anxious. “Hey,” He calmly whispered.

Betty looked up to meet his eyes. He leaned across his chair, to sweetly kiss Betty’s temple. “Are you ready?”

Betty whispered, “As ready as I can be.”

After a couple hours had passed, Betty did take a small nap. When she had woken up, she recognized what town they were in Greendale, right next to her hometown.

She looked over to see Jughead following the gps while listening to some quiet Beatles music. He was only driving with his left hand, his right was rested on the compartment container. Betty caressingly swooped her hand under his and intertwined their fingers.

Jughead looked over and smirked, “Someone’s done their nap?”

His voice was so soothing to her. He was probably the only reason Betty had enough courage to come back.

After a couple seconds, Jughead noticed that Betty was stagardely breathing. He glanced over again to see tears forming in Betty’s eyes and her blinking them back.

Jughead pulled over to a nearby gas station and stopped the car. “I’m sorry,” She whispered in a cry, finally letting tears fall from her face.

“Don’t be sorry,” He whispered gently caressing her hand in circular movements. He knew how hard it was for Betty to come back here, not only because of the memories, but because of what her mother might say. After a couple seconds, Jughead opened his car door and stepped outside of the door, Betty’s eyes followed his figure that was coming to the passenger seat.

First he opened the backdoor and Betty’s brows furrowed as she wiped back a couple of tears. Then, Jughead opened Betty’s door. She gave him a pitiful look. Jughead ignored it and put his arms around Betty’s back and under her knees. He swooped her up causing Betty to have a confused and sad smile on her face.

Jughead closed her door behind him and carried her into the back seats, where they had more room. He sat in the back with Betty cuddled up in his lap.

“When I have an anxiety attack, I usually act or say I wanna be left alone. Or I pretend that I’m fine,” Jughead whispered, “But, I always wish that someone would see past that and be with me. Even if I don’t admit it, it’s always what I want.”

Betty embraced him sideways and Jughead hugged back. She was still tenderly crying. 

Jughead and Betty remained hugging for around fifteen minutes. 

Betty inhaled and exhaled loudly and rubbed Jughead’s arms as she sat back in his lap. “Okay,” She sniffled and continued, “I’m okay.”

Jughead gave Betty one of his rare, compassionate and warm-hearted smiles. “Okay.” He released his hands from Betty and reached to open the car door. He gave Betty a sloppy, affectionate kiss before helping her out of his lap and back to her actual seat. Before he even sat in his seat, he reached over to Betty’s, and wiped away any evident tears from her face.

When Jughead did sit back into his char, Betty surprised him by leaning over to his seat and embracing him. When she released the hug, a small smile graced her her face. “Thank you so much,” Betty softly said.

Jughead nodded and Betty placed her hand on his shoulder, “I’m serious. I’m literally going to cry again because you’re the the best human being I’ve ever met.”

Jughead tapped his fingers anxiously on the drivers wheel. Thoughts were racing through his head. With his other hand, Jughead brushed his curls back, nervously twirling one of the curls. He was wondering if he was really about to just say it.

He deliberately looked over to Betty with a profound and heartfelt look that piqued Betty’s interest. As Jughead grabbed Betty’s hand that had been on his arm, in a low, hushed voice he whispered, “I love you.”

He said it with every ounce of sincerity and truthfulness he had in in body. This wasn’t just some phrase he threw around, it was a phrase that was hard to come by with him, hard to trust someone enough to let them take over him. By saying ‘I love you,’ Jughead was telling Betty he felt so much affection, love, passion, and friendship with her that he is going to was willing to  vulnerable, just because of the faith and trust he felt with her. He said it to show his fear, that she had become such an immense part of his life, that he couldn’t lose her.

Betty’s eyes widened. After a couple seconds of understandable silence he said, “I don’t know how it’s physically or...Logically possible to fall in love with you so quickly, but I did and-”

“-I love you too,” Betty cut him off with her delicate voice. Betty hadn’t heard that phrase in years with her own family. She never thought she’d feel it. She started to think feeling love was impossible. Then there was Jughead who had pulled her out of her melancholy. Those words were like infinite hope, showing Betty that she could be happy again, finally. She paused, “Have you ever heard of soulmates?”

Jughead’s lips tugged into a smile, still in slight shock thay Betty had said it back. He gave a sparse chuckle, “Are you saying that we’re soulmates Betty Cooper?”

“Yeah,” Now there was a smile on Betty’s face that Jughead would never forget. Her ‘I love you’ smile.

Jughead had a glowing smile on his face, “Okay, but we need to get going before your mom kills us.”

Betty giggled, “Okay...Okay.”

\--------

Betty inhaled and exhaled loudly as they approached her old childhood home door. Betty reached out her hand to the doorbell.

She looked over to Jughead and went in for an embrace. After a couple seconds, instead of pulling away, she latched her arms behind his shoulders and around his neck. Betty leaned onto her tippy toes so her lips could meet Jughead’s.

“Betty, your mom…” Jughead whispered into her kiss.

“I love you,” Betty sweetly whispered back. Jughead couldn’t argue with facts so he gave into the kiss, his arms starting to grip her waist firmly.

“I love you too,” Jughead whispered, breathing sporadically from the kiss.

As jughead slowly started to move his hands around Betty’s door, Alice slammed the door open. This time, Betty was expecting it and only departed her lips from his when she spoke.

“Betty…” She began. Her eyes widened for a moment when she saw her daughter with one, a boyfriend and two, making out with him in front of her. She felt uncomfortable which made Betty happy. Her mom always felt a bit _too_ comfortable and kissing Jughead had more benefits than just that one. Betty smiled while she moved her hands down to Jughead’s side, he was now holding her in a side hug.

As she bit her lip, remembering Jughead’s trace that he had on her lips and she pulled away from Jughead so he could interact with Alice.

“Mom, this is Jughead,” Betty smiled.

Jughead gave a light smile, mainly because he had been kissing Betty, as he shook Alice’s hand, “It’s great finally meeting you Mrs. Cooper. My actual name is Forsythe.”

“Forsythe,” She repeated under her breath. “So Betty tells me you’re an author, have you actually been successful with that?” She asked dryly.

Jughead glanced over to Betty, slight perplexity evident on his face because Betty told his that her mom knew who he was.

Betty pulled her lips into a crooked smile, “Remember reading Forsythe Jones’s  _ A Cry In White Noise _ ?”

Alice’s mouth dropped a little. When the book had been published during Betty’s college years, Alice wouldn’t stop talking about how good the book was. Betty couldn’t deny it, the book was amazing. “Oh…Well I have some dinner inside Betty and Forsythe, come on in.” Alice walked inside over to the kitchen and before Betty could follow her, Jughead gently pulled her arm.

“Yes?” Betty asked innocently, battering her eyes.

“You did both of those things on purpose,” Jughead said with a lopsided, amused grin.

“Hmm did I?” She chuckled. Narrowing her eyes playfully, she said, “I thought you hated being called Forsythe.”

“There’s only one person’s in the universe allowed to call me that and it’s you because you’re the only person who erases its past and writes its future. My whole childhood having that name, not my favorite...” He spoke slowly with a smile, “...But you make it sound  _ really really _ good...I’ll deal with kissing up to your mom this week,” Jughead said slowly bringing his arm around Betty’s waist to walk her inside. 

Jughead and Betty walked into their house. Jughead had noted that they lived on a nice neighborhood. His guess was that their family was towards higher middle class. The house was simple, yet sophisticated. All the rooms were painted nice colors and there wasn’t a single wall empty. Jughead did notice that from all the family photos, he had not seen any more recent photos with her father besides the middle school photos. Now that he recalled, Betty had never mentioned her father and he at least wasn’t home now. He felt almost out of place in their  _ perfect home _ , but he knew Betty never felt like she fit in. The house reeked of hidden emotions and hidden meanings.

  
When Jughead and Betty entered the dining room, he immediately looked up to see the diamond chandelier. The table had three china plates placed with silverware on the appropriate sides. Alice had made spaghetti, drizzled with the  _ perfect  _ amount of tomato sauce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Protective Juggie is literally making my heart melt. Also can we just talk about the fact that they both LOVE each other? :) :) :) :) Like yes, they found their soulmates already, out of the seven other billion people on earth Jughead and Betty found each other! And let's mention how vulnerable Jughead made himself and Betty's little scheme with her introducing Jughead to her mom! I love it.


	13. Family Reunited

Alice voluntarily passed out the food to each of their plates. Once she started to eat herself, she asked, “So Forsythe, how long ago did you meet Elizabeth?”

Jughead gave a faint smile while grabbing Betty’s one hand that was under the table, “We’ve been together for two and a half months.”

Alice nodded and then started to prod him more, “Aren’t you always cooped up with writing another book to have so much freetime?”

With a glare, under Betty’s breath she mumbled, “Mom,”

“What Elizabeth? It’s just a question,” Alice replied with a fake smile.

“It’s fine,” He glanced over to Betty, “I have my own due dates and all I need is my laptop to work. Plus, I was more than happy to take a couple of days off for Thanksgiving to meet you.”

“Hmmm,” Alice said while she slowly swirled her wine in her glass, “Are you older or younger than my daughter?”

Jughead exhaled loudly while he stated, “Older…”

Alice shot him a dirty glance to which he continued his sentence, “By two years, I’m twenty-eight.”

Alice’s face went back to it’s normal invasive and evil facade. 

“How did you guys meet?”

Betty rolled her eyes, she had given her mother those minor details she was bugging him of now.

Jughead smiled, “Work, we bumped into each other one day.”

“Work,” Alice repeated with a not impressed look on her face. “Why do you work if you have the money you do?”

Jughead shifted uncomfortably, but squeezed Betty’s hand under the table to reassure her that everything was fine. He was a very modest and humble person, sometimes a little too much. He never gave himself credit for a lot. “Well..I save about ninety-five percent of the proceeds of my books and…” 

He paused, bringing up family wasn’t his favorite dinner conversation. Betty respected that and he told her all of that information in private, when he was ready. There was nothing that could convince Betty to disrespect him by openly talking about his family. Alice was heartlessly oblivious to all the signs of uneasiness he was showing. 

“I send money to my little sister every month,” His voice cracked. Betty scooted her chair over closer to his so she could lean her body against his. Just like that, her touch helped him instantly feel better. “The money I send her is from my job at the NYU Writing Center.”

For some reason, Alice had no emotional understanding of what Jughead had gone through and how hard it is to bring those memories back up. She cleared her throat to say something and as she raised her hand to proceed her interrogation. With a fake perky voice, she said, “I’ll go get it.”

Betty glanced over to Jughead with her head cocking to the side. Neither of them could have predicted this visitor.    


A familiar ‘Hello’ was said to her mother that caused Betty to gasp as she swung her head to the door and let go of Jughead’s hand. She leaned slightly onto the table to try and confirm who she thought the guest was. “Polly?” Betty asked in disbelief as she started to stand. When she stood up, the tablecloth unwrinkled. 

Jughead watched Betty, he had known that she had a sister, but he thought Polly didn’t talk to Alice anymore. Or at least, he assumed that they wouldn’t talk after everything that happened. In his mind, he was actually curious why she would come back to this place is she was able to escape. When walking into the house, Jughead had also noticed there was not nearly as many photos with Polly as there was of Betty. He had obviously heard her story. She had gotten pregnant her freshman year of college and parents had sent her off to some awful place and locked her up. Finally, she had escaped thanks to Betty but Jughead didn’t certainly didn’t think the possibilities of think her returning home, even if it were for a short amount of time, were likely.

As Jughead walked over to see and join in the commotion, Betty was faced away from him, towards the door. He placed his arm on Betty’s shoulder and she immediately turned around to him.

“Polly, this is Jughead, the one I was telling you about,” Betty said as she gave Jughead a peck on his cheek.

Polly gave a smile, “I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s nice to meet you!”

As Jughead shook her hand he said, “It’s nice to meet you Polly.”

As Betty wrapped herself around Jughead’s arm, she asked, “Are the kids in the car?”

“Mmm,” Polly nodded, “They’re sleeping right now.”

“Can Jug and I go get them?” Betty anxiously asked, wanting to see the kids. They were seven years old and Betty had only seen them when they were born because Polly had moved away and isolated herself from her family, which Betty didn’t blame her for it. Hell, if she could have left sooner, Betty would have. Not only was Betty going to see her sister, she was going to see her kids. Of course Polly had sent her pictures frequently, but that never could surpass being able to actually interact with them.

“Yep! Just a warning Juniper and Dagwood get cranky when waking up so good luck,” Polly chuckled as Betty grabbed Jughead’s arm and practically ran to the car, with Jughead being dragged behind her.

“I know...The names I would not have chosen, but they’re completely normal and don’t know anything about my mom,” Betty whispered while they approached the car. Betty supported Polly’s decision, they were  _ too _ young to be pulled into the collision. She looked up and gave a smile to Jughead, “I only saw them when they were just born. Can you believe they’re already seven?”

Jughead smiled at seeing how happy Betty was. He opened the car door and Betty embraced him.

“Look how cute they are Juggy!” She said resting her head on Jughead’s arm, “I think if I stared at them too long, I’d want one.” Betty chuckled, “Baby fever for sure is taking over.”

Jughead glanced over to see her glowing face, “I agree. Do you wanna wake them up?”

Betty nodded and in a sweet, soothing voice said, “Juniper, Dagwood, time to wake up.”

They both battered their eyes open. They immediately recognized Betty from the many pictures Polly had shown them while they were growing up. Although Polly did hold a grudge towards their mother, she never intended on making Betty feel bad or like she didn’t like her. The truth is, Polly missed her a lot and what kept her going as a single mother was really thinking about how strong Betty was and how she wanted to be a good role model, for her children.

A smile came to Junipers face. She was wearing a pink care bear onesie, “Aunt Betty!” As she sung her hands around Betty. Juniper had been sitting on the side of the car where Betty and Jughead had been. 

Dagwood smiled, “Hi Aunt Betty! We missed you.”

“Awe,” Betty chuckled, “I missed you guys too.”

“Juni, it’s Uncle Forsythe,” Dagwood said while pointing to Jughead.

He revealed himself, moving from behind Betty. “Hi Juniper and Dagwood,” He smiled. 

Betty looked over to Jughead and smiled. “I didn’t know we were married,” He joked, whispering down her back, causing Betty to cock her head back onto his shoulders. “Hmm, I didn’t tell you?” She whispered back. She pursed her lips, in what Jughead felt like taunting, because it was like she was begging for his lips to meet his. Jughead gave in and tilted his head towards her. He lightly held Betty’s neck as he repositioned her head so he could get a kiss in. Betty smiled as they kissed, her hand held Jughead’s other that was holding her waist.

“Ewwww,” Dagwood said with a happy voice. It was just a kid thing to find romance disgusting, they only had a couple more years before they’d change that opinion.

Betty pulled away as she licked her lips, still tasting Jughead’s scent on her lips. She laughed, Okay guys, let’s get you inside with Mommy. Do you guys want to take in your bags?”

Both eagerly nodded and the kids jumped out of the car to walk with Betty and Jughead. Jughead opened the trunk and handed them their suitcases. As they approached the open door, Betty and Jughead felt and heard the tension between Polly and her mother. They were quietly exchanging indignant and loathfull words.

Jughead, letting both know that the children were coming, he loudly said, “Okay, go give grandma a hug!”

Alice quickly turned as she saw them approach the porch. She kneeled down, “Hi guys! You both look so big!” Both went to hug her and Betty exchanged glances with Polly. She was pissed off and rightfully so. It clicked in Betty’s mind that Polly was probably only doing this for her, out of love. 

“Do you guys want to see your bedroom and all the old toys I found for you two?” Alice asked, for once, with a mellow and thoughtful voice.

“Yeah,” Juniper said, starting to follow Alice upstairs. Dagwood was behind Juniper, they never left each others’ sides.

As Alice closed the bedroom door upstairs with the kids, Polly rolled her eyes and sighed.

Betty’s natural instinct was to apologize, it’s something her mother had always enforced is that she should be sorry for her ‘Repulsive behavior.’ Betty hugged Polly and when she pulled away, she said, “I’m sorry Polly.”

“Betty it’s not your fault Mom’s like this. Plus…” She chuckled, “I’d do anything to see you. When you had called and told me you were coming home, I had to come.”

Betty nodded, “Thank you, I missed you  _ so _ much. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have you here.”

Polly excitedly said, “So am I…” She smiled and turned her attention to Jughead, “And you’re Jughead,” She chuckled, “Sorry for telling them that you two were married. It’s just easier for them to understand and god knows how complicated this family is.”

“Trust me I understand complicated family more than you’d think,” He chuckled, shaking her hand. 

She gave an understanding nod back. “Betty has told me a lot about you.”

Jughead’s cheeks tinged of a faint, but noticeable pink. “Mmmm,” He mumbled.

“Don’t worry,” She chuckled, “It’s all good stuff. She just raves on about you almost every time we talk.” She glanced over to Betty whose face was flashing of fascia. Usually she didn’t get embarrassed about him anymore, but she was revealing this admiration Jughead didn’t even know about. “It’s just nice to put a face to the name.”

Jughead put his hand around Betty’s waist, lightly pulling her to his side. He glanced over and chuckled to see Betty bashfully biting her lip. It was actually heartwarming to him to know Betty loved him, even with the simplest actions. With exaggerated, shocked look he said, “Wow she brags about me? I would have never thought.”

Betty playfully, but powerfully nudged Jughead making his grip against her waist stronger to stand still. “Oh come on, I’m nice to you,” She pouted.

“If you say so,” He joked.

She flirtatiously put her hand around his waist. It was the first time she had put her hand on his waist. His heart started fluttering as she sent him into a trance. He thought about her sweet lips on his. It was one of those simple things that meant a lot to someone. Her touch on his. He felt like his life was complete with hers, there was nothing else they needed. Betty squeezed Jughead’s waist, with a confused smile on her face.

“I love you,” Jughead gazed over to Betty.

She let out another huge smile, “I love you too.”

As Betty rested her head on Jughead’s shoulder, Polly grinned, “I’m really happy for you two.”

In a loud whisper she asked, “How’d you get past Alice?”

Jughead chuckled and shrugged, “I didn’t know if I was going to make it through those doors so I’m not sure.”  
“Well...I think it’s a little  _ too _ quiet upstairs and I’m sure the kids are beat from the drive, so I better head up there and put them to bed,” Polly said while walking over to the stairs. As she started walking up them, she called out, “I hope I can get to know you Jughead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love how bashful and adorable they are. Polly's back and Betty and Jughead will be talking privately next chapter, so you can get excited for that ;) Also, I changed the history of Betty's background a little so I hope you guys are enjoying that. Anyways I just can't get enough of them being protective, it's adorable.


	14. Tending To Desires

Betty was sitting at her white vanity looking into the mirror at herself. She was examining where she was going to have to wipe her makeup off. Jughead had worn a blue button-up  _ Polo  _ shirt and black khakis. Betty had worn a pair of navy blue jeans with a gray  _ Sheinside  _ sweater that had ruffles on the sleeves after the. Jughead was laying on bed, watching Betty, pondering about what he was going to ask about their family. He didn’t want to be nosy because he also hated to talk about his family, but he wanted to be there for Betty.

As Betty grabbed a makeup remover wipe, without making eye contact, she began to talk to Jughead, “You’re probably curious about my dad because I never told you.”

With a soft voice, Jughead said, “It’s okay if you don’t wanna talk about him. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

A small smile graced Betty’s face, “It’s okay...I remember him doing what dads do like driving me places, punishing me, being the more lenient parent.”

Jughead sat up in the bed, so he could pay better attention to Betty. He nodded.

“But after a while...Their marriage started to feel more like an agreement that they had to follow. So they started fighting and my dad wasn’t home as much after their fights. I think he probably found someone better than my mom…” Betty paused as she looked into the mirror to confirm that she had taken off all her eye makeup.

“Next thing I heard was their last time shouting at each other because it ended with my dad mentioning divorce.” As Betty reached back to pull her ponytail out and let her hair be free, she let out a sad chuckle, “January 14th of my freshman year of high school is their official divorce date.”

“The only thing I missed about my dad was that he kept her sane and when he left,” Betty said hoarsely as tears filled the corner of her eyes, “He didn’t even think about me and Polly, how much she could hurt us because of the pain she was in.” A tear ran down Betty’s face, but she quickly wiped it off.

Jughead started to get off the bed and walk up to her. “I’m sorry we’ve gone through so much pain and suffering before finding happiness, but it’s finally over Betts.” Jughead was behind Betty’s chair and placed a hand on her shoulder, “We won’t be anything like them. You don’t have to worry.”

Betty turned her head to him, “But my mom’s so crazy-”

“-And I know you’re not. You’re the best fucking person that I’ve ever had in my whole entire life. You were like a breath of fresh air that brought me back to life,” Jughead interjected. “Of course I’m scared as hell that you would think I’m anything like my father, but I love you  _ so _ much that I ignore my fears because I know that you love me too. Even before we said ‘I love you’ I still knew you did and visa versa.” Jughead slowly reiterated his point, “You aren’t crazy Betty, you’re a miracle.”

A tear fled from Betty’s face, “Sometimes I wonder if my heart can handle how much I love you.” Betty stood from her chair and embraced Jughead. 

“Okay,’” Although her voice was still weary, she chuckled, “On a less sad note...Aren’t Juniper and Dagwood precious?”

They were still in a hug, neither wanted to leave the touch of each other, they craved it so much. “Yeah,” Jughead chuckled, “They honestly made me think about how much I wanted kids some day. I mean someone can just erase their past and write a new future with a family that doesn’t have to be like the generation before.”

It was the second time Jughead had mentioned the phrase ‘Erase their past and write a new future.’ Betty had noticed that. She felt so happy that he felt like he could just restart his life and be happy with her.

As Betty finally released the embrace, they both felt the cold air coming in between them. Jughead still stood in front of her.

In a soft, but excited voice Betty asked, “So you want kids?”

Jughead chuckled, “Yeah, of course. But like, there has to be at least two kids so one of them doesn’t turn out to be bratty and needy.”

“And two years in between so the first doesn’t feel left out.” Betty smiled as her hands started to trace up his sides to his shoulders, “But we’d have to be married first.”

“We would definitely have to be married,” Jughead smiled while his hands started to hold her waist.

“I love you Forsythe Jones,” Betty said while she went on her tippy toes so her lips could meet Jughead’s.

“I love you too, Elizabeth Cooper,” Jughead whispered through their kiss with sporadic breaths.

He tenderly ambled forward and lead Betty backwards, causing her to stumble back in his arms. He gently hit Betty’s back against her vanity and a couple toiletries fell over from the counter. Betty gasped in his mouth to which Jughead smiled as he bit her lower lip. 

“Jughead,” She panted.

“What? What is it?” Jughead pulled away from Betty’s lips, looking at her face. His breathing was still sporadic.

With every temptation in her body, Betty stood in front of him, “Are you sure?”

“Are you sure?” He asked, still cradling her in his arms.

“I want you,” Betty said while slowly tightening her arms that were around Jughead’s shoulders, “I want all of you tonight.”

Jughead smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her sweetly. She giggled as he swiftly picked her up from her stance on the floor and carried her over to her bed. As Jughead released Betty onto the bed, she pulled him on top of her and he swiftly went onto the bed without breaking the kiss. Jughead started to pepper-kiss Betty down her neck.

Then, an innocent knock came from their door. Jughead sighed with a smile on his face. “Damn it,” She pouted with a chuckle. He gave Betty a passionate kiss before pulling away and getting of the bed, to go and answer her door. Betty gazed at him while he walked over.

He slowly opened the door, hoping it wasn’t Alice or Polly because both would probably be able to sense what had just happened. His eyebrows furrowed as he let out a chuckle, “Juniper, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Mommy and grandma are fighting and I’m scared,” She whispered. Jughead stood silent for a moment, waiting to hear hushed yells. Neither Betty, nor Jughead had noticed the fighting downstairs because they were distracted with their own lives.

“Is Dagwood sleeping?” Jughead presumably asked.

“Yeah…” She paused. As kids were curious about most things and didn't understand adults actions yet, she asked, “What’s on your face?”

Jughead froze for a second before chuckling. It was Betty’s pink lipstick that had relocated itself to Jughead’s lips.

“Did you get hurt?” An innocent question that caused Jughead to laugh.

“No, I’m fine,” Jughead assured her. He licked his lips with Betty’s lipstick and took in the taste.

“Can I sleep with you and Aunt Betty?”

“Uhhh,” Jughead turned back to give Betty a sympathetic, sorry look, “Yeah. Come on in, we were just gonna sleep.”

She followed Jughead in and plopped herself onto the middle of the bed. “It’s pink and fun in here,” Juniper said while examining the room.

“I’m going to go change into my pajamas,” Betty told them as she went to walk over to her suitcase. She grabbed her velvet pajama set and walked out to her bathroom.

In the bathroom, Betty looked in the mirror and turned on the faucet. She placed her hand under the flowing water and then with some water cupped in her hand, she washed off the lipstick. Betty grabbed her toothbrush after and brushed her teeth. After that, Betty changed into her velvet set of pajamas. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, she was finally happy with the way she looked because Jughead loved her. She knew that her mother had no reason to talk about her weight before she had came because she was fit. Plus, if she wasn’t, Jughead loved every part of her no matter what. 

Her velvet pajamas were a light pink. It was a crop top and pair of short-shorts. They were comfy.

As Betty walked back into the bathroom, she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She had never slept in a bed with Jughead before or worn her revealing pajamas. She wasn’t someone who would easily do those kinds of things. Jughead gazed over. He thought about how beautiful she was no matter what she wore. Betty bashfully smiled at Jughead’s gaze.

He was wearing his boxers and white undershirt, but he was already under the covers with Juniper. 

She chuckled, “Juni I wasn’t aware you were stealing my cuddle buddy.”

She laughed.

Betty moved herself under the covers and started to fall asleep to Jughead’s beautiful and charming voice telling Juniper a bedtime story. He was really good with kids because he was raised with a younger sister that he basically took care of.

Eventually Juniper had drifted off and Jughead had gotten out of bed and moved her to his side of the bed. He walked over to betty’s side and woke her up with his gentle arms lifting her up slightly and moving her to the center of the bed so he could sleep next to her.

She opened her alluring green eyes with a smile pulling onto her drowsy lips. “Hi Juggy,” Betty said while opening her arms to Jughead who swifty got onto the bed and pulled his arms around her into a close embrace. He kissed her forehead.

“Hi Betts,” Jughead whispered as he pulled Betty even closer to him, eliminating space in between them. Their heat was now rubbing off of each other. He closed his eyes and Betty tucked her head near his chest where she fell asleep to his soothing, even heartbeat. 

\--------

“Aunt Betty, Uncle Forsythe wake up!” Juniper said while bouncing on the bed.

“Ugh,” Jughead groaned while covering his face with a pillow.

Betty laughed while she moved herself out of the bed to go watch Juniper. Before leaving the bedside, she pulled Jughead’s pillow out of his face and planted a kiss on Jughead’s cheek that caused him to smile. Jughead chuckled, “It’d be like this every morning with a kid.”

“Which is why you need to become a morning person, at least for this week. After that you can wait like a year or two,” Betty chuckled.

Jughead smiled. She wanted to start a family with him. He sat up from the bed and and Betty grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the bed.

“Come on, we can go get some coffee,” Betty sweetly said while they followed Juniper downstairs to the living room. Dagwood was downstairs quietly playing with toys with Polly.

“I see someone snuck into your room last night,” Polly chuckled as Juniper joined Dagwood to color.

“Yeah,” Betty chuckled thinking about how she had interrupted them.

“Well it was sweet of you to let her sleep with you, I know you probably wanted to sleep next to someone else,” She said while standing up and walking towards the kitchen. She was now behind Betty and Jughead who were facing the kids. As she placed her hand on Betty’s back, she asked, “Would you guys like coffee?”

“Ah,” Betty groaned when her hand touched her.

“Sorry,” Polly immediately said. Jughead glanced over to see what was bothering Betty. “How’d you hurt your back?”

“Uhhh…” She tried to think of an excuse, but there was none. She chuckled, “I hit my back on the vanity last night.” A smirk appeared on Jughead’s face. 

“Ugh that sounds painful,” Polly sympathized, “How’d you hit it?”

Betty’s face bean to flash fascia. Polly noticed the two’s behavior. A lopsided, amused grin came to her face. She helped Betty out, “Did you reach for something and then forget it was there?” She narrowed her eyes towards them, “I’ve done that like a million times.”

Betty nodded and mumbled, “Mmm”

All of them knew how she hit her back on the vanity.

“So coffee?” Polly questioned while making her way to the kitchen counter where the coffee pot was. 

Betty looked to Jughead who nodded, “Yeah, two please.”

As the coffee was stirring, Jughead chuckled and in a hushed voice asked, “Did I hurt you? You could have told

me.”

Betty laughed as her cheeks tinged with pink, “I didn’t notice until now.”

“I’m sorry,” He lightly laughed. 

“It’s fine, I’d do it again,” Betty said without realizing what she was really saying. “I-I meant that you…” She stuttered as her cheeks reddened.

“Betty, I know what you meant,” He said while reaching for her shoulder, “Your touch on my skin is like an addiction.” His hand started to trace down her arm slowly until he reached her hand and held it, intertwining their fingers. Betty smiled as she watched his hands on her bare skin, she was still wearing her velvet pajamas.

“As tempting as you are Jones, we have children, my sister, and my mother are around us right now,” She chuckled.

“Back with coffee,” Polly announced as she waltzed back in the room.

Jughead turned and with his other hand, grabbed the coffee from Polly’s hand. “Thank you,” Jughead murmured as he continued gazing at Betty.

“Okay Juni and Dag, get ready. We’re going to the park soon.” She said sternly to both of the kids. With another devious grin she said, “We’ll give you too some free time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmmm will they always get interrupted? I love how protective they are with each other and the way Jughead calms Betty and how they asked for each others' permission before Juniper came in and interrupted! I apologize because there will be some angst next chapter, but I think it'll further develop their relationship and be surprising to you guys. Hope you guys are excited!


	15. The Dreaded Call

It was the fourth day Betty and Jughead had been in Riverdale. Both Betty and Jughead were happy staying at her mother’s house. Betty because she had the opportunity to spend time with her nieces and sister. Jughead because Betty’s happiness rubbed off onto him.

“Juggy,” Betty said lightly shaking Jughead out of his sleep.

“What Betts?” He asked while stretching his arms out and opening his eyes.

“The kids are awake, I just thought you’d wanna wake up since everyone else is,” Betty said sweetly as she leaned forward to kiss Jughead’s temple. His face looked dismal. “Juggy,” She said placing a hand on his shoulder that he wasn’t lying on. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” He said shrugging off Betty’s hand.

Her eyes followed his that were trying to avoid eye contact, “I know there’s something wrong Jughead.”

“It’s nothing Betty,” He snapped with a slightly loud voice. He closed his eyes and sighed. He didn’t want to be rude to Betty, he didn’t mean to. “I-I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry about?” Betty asked in confusion of why he was so worked up the second he woke up.

“Being an asshole at seven am when you’re trying to wake me up and care about me,” Jughead groaned, almost punishing himself for snapping at her.

She chuckled, “I should have known better than to wake you up early.” Her face went back to her serious facade, “But what’s bothering you?”

“I don’t know,” Jughead dismissed her. He didn’t mean to be so closed off, but sometimes it was like an automatic reaction when he gave so much trust to someone. Trust has been broken so many times. 

Her eyes narrowed, “Juggy, I need you to tell me what’s wrong. I’m not letting you leave this bed until you do.”

Jughead sat up in the bed, resting his back on the nightstand. “I had this horrible dream and now I have this ominous feeling. I just don’t feel good about today,” He looked over. “I-I sound crazy,” Jughead shook his head, “I sound crazy.”

Betty started to cuddle up next to his body, resting her head on his chest. “You don’t sound crazy. When I was at school, my junior year, I got this really bad feeling while I was in school. I came home to find out that they sent my sister away.” She sighed, “But let’s not assume the worst okay?”

Jughead leaned down and kissed the back of Betty’s neck, sending shockwaves down her body. She smiled into his undershirt. “Okay.”

“You don’t sound happy,” Betty said as she started to walk her fingers up Jughead’s chest to his cheek.

“I’m not the happy type,” Jughead tauntingly said. 

“But you are with me,” Betty pouted as her hand went up to Jughead’s hair, playing with a curl that had fallen over his face.

“Mmm I don’t know about that,” Jughead teasingly said as he watched Betty’s hand.

“You are with me,” She repeated as she slowly positioned her body to be leaning over Jughead’s.

“Maybe,” Jughead said before he wrapped his arms around Betty’s back and pulled her closely. Without breaking the kiss, he rolled her over so they were on the other side of the bed. Betty giggled as her hands started to pull off Jughead’s undershirt and threw it to the ground. Jughead was kissing her sweetly, but pulled away, breathing heavy. “You’re right, I need to change,” Jughead smirked while he went to stand up, leaving Betty on the bed, watching him. He had to admit that it was very tempting to leave Betty.

“You were also right about everyone being awake,” Jughead chuckled. He walked over to his suitcase and grabbed out another  _ Polo  _ shirt that was green and a pair of tan khakis. “I’m gonna change,” Jughead said while walking over to the bathroom.

Betty sighed as she got out of bed, however there was still a smile on her face. She walked over to her suitcase and pulled out a button up, navy blue skirt with a white sweater. After a couple minutes, both had changed, and Jughead knocked on Betty’s door. “Can I come in now?” He sarcastically asked, knowing she had probably been done changing for a while.

“Jug I don’t take that long!” Betty said in a high pitched voice as Jughead entered their bedroom. He was holding his pajamas and plopped them into his suitcase. As she watched his, she rolled her eyes with a chuckle.

“What?” He asked innocently.

“You’re so messy!” Betty said while she turned her attention back to her makeup.

“As beautiful as you are with makeup, why don’t you let your skin breathe today?” Jughead asked as he walked up to Betty and stole her makeup brush.

“I like makeup,” She stated.

“I know, hence the obsession,” He pointed to her ten high-end makeup palettes, “But you don’t have to dress up for your family Betts. You’re beautiful,” He smiled. “I’m one hundred percent sure they love you just the way you are...And so do,” Jughead sweetly said as he placed his arms around her shoulders.

Betty bashfully shrugged as she stood from her vanity chair and Jughead released his hands from around Betty. She turned around, only feet away from Jughead. He gazed at her. “Damn,” He mumbled. Betty smiled as she cocked her head to the side, “You look amazing Betty, as usual.”

“You’re such a sweetheart,” Betty said as she reached for Jughead’s hand.

As he intertwined their fingers, he leaned forward and pursed his lips as they met Betty’s. 

As Betty’s door knocked, they pulled away and turned to see who was at their door.

Alice walked in, “Oh,” She said while seeing their fingers intertwined. No matter who the guy was that Betty brough home, Alice wasn’t going to be one hundred percent on board.

“What Mom?” Betty asked accusingly.

Jughead squeezed her hand and murmured, “It’s fine.”

“Breakfast is ready,” Alice said while leaving their room and walking off downstairs, to tend to the food.

Betty shook her head, “I’m sorry-” She started to say.

“-For nothing  _ because _ you can’t control her,” He assured her while leading Betty downstairs.

Once Betty and Jughead walked downstairs, they saw the kids eating away at their breakfast. “Betty, Jughead, I made some extra breakfast for you guys,” Polly beamed while the two joined the children at the dining room table.

“Thank you Polly,” Jughead said as he reached over to grab the plate of scrambled eggs. First, he scraped some off the plate for Betty and then himself. Same for the toast.

“So what are you guys gonna do today?” Betty said smiling at the kids. Betty and Jughead were sitting across from them.

“Mommy says we’re going to the park and cooking with grandma for tomorrow!” Dagwood said while chewing his food.

“Manors Dagwood,” Polly said while walking into the room.

Both the kids looked at each other and started laughing. “Sorry Mommy,” Dagwood said with a smile on his face.

“Uncle Forsythe..” Dagwood said.

“What?” Jughead asked.

“How’d you meet Aunt Betty?” He naively asked. Little kids were always curious about love, as if they knew they were going to fall in love one day.

Jughead smirked as he glanced over to Betty who was tucking a strand of hair behind her precious ears. “I was walking out of work one day and she was walking to work. I accidentally bumped into her and made all her stuff fall-”

“-Boom! Oh no!” Juniper giggled waving her hands in the air.

“So I started to pick up her things and help her back up and when we stood up, I finally got to look at this stranger I had hit. She made my heart beat really fast…” Jughead let out a smile looking to Betty who was blushing. It was the first time he had talked about the first time they meant and it confirmed he had liked her from the start. “...And from that moment on, I hoped that I could bump into her everyday if it meant seeing her again.”

Betty bashfully placed her head on Jughead’s broad shoulder. “I love you,” She whispered to which Jughead smiled and whispered back, “I love you too.”

“Ewww,” Juniper said as she pointed to them touching. It’s funny, she loved their love story, but touching was too much. Jughead chuckled, he remembered when he was really young. He used to tell his parents ‘Ewww’ after their kisses too, of course that never lasted for long.

Jughead kissed Betty’s temple as she rested her head on his shoulder. They started to eat. Betty remained by his side the whole time they had small conversation with Juniper and Dagwood.

From Jughead’s pocket, his phone started to vibrate. “Who is it?” Betty perked her head up, in curiosity of who was calling him. She hoped it wasn’t his assistant because she didn’t want Jughead to work too much. 

“Uhmm,” Jughead said as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket. His brows furrowed, “It’s from California, I’d better take it outside,” Jughead said while starting to stand up.

“Okay,” Betty quietly said as she watched Jughead walk out of the front door and pace on the front porch.

“Who is it Aunt Betty?” Juniper asked.

“I don’t know,” Betty said with her attention watching Jughead from the window.

She tried to not let fear take over as her whole body could sense something bad coming.

He was outside for too long. If it was a business call or even a call from family, it would not have taken this long. Betty remembered the feeling Jughead had about today. Then in an instant, everything clicked.

Betty stood up and inhaled and exhaled loudly and before walking outside, Polly snapped her mind back to reality, “Betty what is it?”

Betty turned around, but couldn’t answer her. Her mind was going into overdrive. She was too busy thinking of the disastrous call Jughead could have received. She couldn’t sit around in confusion while he was on the phone and just wonder what was taking so long. She tried to answer Polly, but no words came out when she turned around to see Jughead tracing the crimson crescents that were starting to heal.

Betty opened the front door and Jughead let out a sigh in relief that Betty was there as a tear fell from his face that Betty quickly reached to catch. “Who is it?” Betty asked with a look of pain for Jughead on her face.

Jughead’s head dropped as he held his phone from his ear to his waist. In a hoarse, choked voice, Jughead managed to say, “My sister’s in the hospital for god knows what fucking injury. It had to be my dad.” Betty could hear the agony and misery in his voice. She had felt it before personally.

“Who called you?” Betty said grabbed his hand that wasn’t holding the phone.

“I’m her emergency contact,” Jughead croaked. ‘I’m on hold, they’re trying to get her condition now, but the doctors are with her right now.”

Betty threw her arms around Jughead and he embraced back. Betty walked back a couple of steps so they could sit on the bench they had. “Jug, I’m so sorry about your sister.” Betty grabbed Jughead’s phone and put it on speaker so he wouldn’t have to hold the phone. She balanced it on the bench’s arm.

Jughead cried in Betty’s arms, “Betty, I should have-”

“-Do not punish yourself Jughead. This is not your fault. We’re going to get through this Jug, like we alway do,” Betty comfortingly said as she tightened their embrace.

“Okay,” Jughead in a muffled voice against her back. His head was resting on her shoulder.

Then, the speaker came back on, “Mr. Jones?”

“Yes,” Betty replied knowing Jughead was unable to speak clearly enough.

“Mrs. Jones?” The lady questioned, noticing the voice change.

“Uhm, yeah,” Betty quickly replied.

“She has some injuries to the abdomen and her father is here. Would you like to speak to him?”

Jughead gasped in vain as he shook his head on Betty’s shoulder. It was confirmed, his father was definitely the reason.

“No, no. Do we know the reason for the injury?”

“To be determined mam,” The lady said.

“Okay, thank you,” Betty defeatedly said as she hung up the phone. 

After a couple minutes, Jughead had stopped crying, but his breathing was uneven and panicked.

“Shhh,” Betty whispered to him, “I’m right here, I’m right here.”

With some anxiety starting to exit his body, he pulled his head up from Betty’s delicate shoulder.

“I have to fly over there Betty, but you should stay with your family,” He sighed.

“No Jug, let me go with you. You need someone,” Betty replied.

“Betty, stay with your family. You rarely see them,” Jughead reassured her.

“You are my family,” Betty almost screamed in attempt for him to hear her. “More than anyone, you’re my family.” She started to caress her hands, almost worried about her statements. She knew Alice and Polly had to hear her.

Jughead looked into her eyes and went in for a sloppy, affectionate ‘I’m here for your best and worst times’ kiss. He rested his forehead on hers. “We should probably get going,” He said in a hushed voice.

Betty helped Jughead up and gave him a hug, “I’ll book the flight if you can grab our stuff,” Betty whispered.

As they entered the house, Jughead went straight upstairs to pack their things up and Betty grabbed her old laptop that was on the living room coffee table. Betty walked back to the table to see concerned looks from both her sister and mother.

“Are you two okay?” Polly said in soft voice.

In a hushed voice so the playing children wouldn’t hear her, she said, “Jughead’s sister is in the hospital and we are pretty sure it’s her father so we are going to have to get going soon.”

Polly sighed, “I’m so sorry.”

Betty nodded as she opened the laptop and purchased two plane tickets that would leave to California in an hour and a half. “I’m sorry to leave the kids, especially the day before Thanksgiving...But I have my own family’s problems to attend to now,” Betty bitterly said, intending for her mom to catch up on the insult.

Jughead came downstairs and as he intertwined his fingers with Betty, he said, “It was nice meeting you Polly and Alice. I’m sorry for-”

“-It’s okay. Family problems in something we have to deal with a lot, huh mom?” Polly said while she glanced over at her speechless mom.

Jughead nodded and they proceeded to leave to the airport, hand in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I love protective Betty as much as protective Jughead.


	16. The Unlikely Return

That moment that Jughead and Betty bursted into the hospital was a blur for Jughead. It was like a nightmare that he couldn’t wake up from. Eventually, he found out that was because it was reality and impossible to not face it.

Fp immediately stood up to greet them. Jughead walked up to his father with every single ounce of his body wanting him to feel the pain he had put on them. “Jughe-”

“-You son of a bitch, where the hell is my sister?” Jughead barked, dismissing any attempt Fp was going to try and have. This was the calmest and least violent route Jughead could have followed with his father. Betty was behind Jughead, watching this play out. If she were being honest, she was surprised his interaction with him wasn't worse. She was expecting worse.

“She’s in room B219, But-” Fp started to say, but Jughead ignored him and walked to the hospital rooms with Betty following him. He quickly navigated which hallway and room she was at.

Jughead walked into Jellybean’s room and his heart broke a little. He gasped when seeing the reality of his injured sister. “Jellybean,” He said with anger and fear in his voice.

She turned her head to the entrance, “Jughead,” She gave a small smile.

“Do you even know how scared I got that the last time I saw you in person we fought?” His voice still couldn’t decide if he was relieved or angered, it was both right now. There were too many emotions running through his head right now.

“I know,” Jellybean sighed.

“You remember that one weekend when I was a freshman when Mom stayed with you and you kept asking where I was?” Jughead asked sternly. Regardless if she answered, he was going to keep going. Jellybean expected this from him. She nodded.

His voice cracked as a tear fled down his face, “God, I was in this exact fucking room. With the mirror in the bathroom-”

“That’s cracked,” She finished.

Betty went up and hugged Jellybean, “We’re glad you’re okay,” She whispered.

“Sure as hell we are because I don’t know what I would have done,” Jughead earnestly rampaged on.

“Probably killed dad,” She joked with a small smile on her face. She knew it wasn’t the time to make jokes like that.

“Right,” He sighed, “I’ll be back I have to talk to him.”

Betty looked over to him and intertwined their fingers, “I love you Jug.” She kissed his forehead, “But please don’t kill him.”

Jughead ignored the second part of Betty’s sentence, “I love you too,” He said before walking off. At least he would be somewhat calm because she had said ‘I love you,’ to what extend, she wasn’t aware. This exchange of words obviously did not go unnoticed by Jellybean. It was surprising to hear them, he wasn't afraid to say it anymore. When he said it, he meant it, and that was it.

Jellybean sighed, “Is he always this pissed off?”

Betty offered a small smile, “No. He’s rarely pissed off.” She shrugged, “I think you’re lucky to have a sibling that cares about you so much.”

Jellybean let out a chuckle and she yelped, “Ow.” Betty gave a sad smile. “You’re the Betty Cooper my brother’s talks about?” She asked with a smile on her face.

“And you’re the infamous Jellybean Jones,” Betty chuckled.

They could hear muffled yelling from the visitors area. Betty and Jellybean knew better than to question who was fighting because they already knew. 

Betty gave a small smile, “You’re really lucky to have a protective, older brother.”

\--------

“Son,” Fp started when Jughead came storming out of Jellybean’s room to see him.

“Don’t son me Fp,” Jughead retorted back. He got so enraged he started to trace the healing crimson crescents, but immediately thought about Betty so he laid his fingers flat and squeezed them. “Tell me how the fuck she ended up in here.”

“It was an accident. Relax,” Fp chuckled.

Jughead threw his hands in the air, “Oh my god, are you kidding me? You’re drunk!”

“No, no,” Fp waves his hands happily in the air, “We were just having fun Jughead, like we used to?”

Jughead frowned, “Why is she in the same hospital bed that I was thirteen years ago for the same reason?”

“Jughead-”

“-No,” His voiced cracked, “Why did you hurt her?”

Fp chuckled. “You clearly don’t know what you’re fucking doing here,” Jughead raised his voice. Fp looked up in almost disbelief. “No. You might be her father, biologically, but I’ll be damned if that excuse works in court,” Jughead scoffed.

He turned around and walked up to the desk and waited  for someone to show up, “Hi,” He started, “We don’t live around her and it’d be a lot more convenient if you could transfer my sister, Forsythia, to New York. Would that be possible because of her conditions?”

“New York did you say? And what are you to...Forsythia?” She asked.

“Legal guardian, Forsythe Jones,” He looked back to his father who was in complete utter shock. His drunken self didn’t remember when Jughead basically fired him as a parent and had threatened to do this. Well today was the day.

She scrolled through her computer and nodded before speaking, “Which hospital?”

“Lenox Hill Hospital, 100 East 77 Street,” Jughead replied while he started to lean on the counter

“Zipcode?” She asked so she could finalize the move.

“Uhhh,” Jughead thought for a quick second, “10075.”

She entered on her computer and with a smile said, “Okay we’ll be moving her within the next two hours, are you two coming alone?” She asked pointing to the man, Fp, who was watching.

Jughead shook his head, “No, but my girlfriend Betty Cooper, she’s in her room right now.”

The lady kindly nodded as Jughead turned around to Fp. He had skepticism and astoundment playing on his face. “Jughead-” He pleaded, finally starting to realize how serious Jughead was.

“-You don’t get to destroy our lives anymore Fp, so save your sorry excuses,” Jughead shouted.

Fp reached out to his shoulder, “Jughead please,”

A tear dropped from his eye and onto his cheek. He shook his head and shrugged off his shoulder. Jughead wiped the tear off his face and before solemnly walking off, in a hoarse voice he said, “Please stop, don’t talk to me...Or Jellybean.”

Jughead entered the room and Betty immediately turned to him. She could tell he had been crying, even if his face didn’t look like it, she knew Jughead all to well. His eyes were puffy and it looked like he was holding back tears. In a heartbroken voice, that was still stern, yet rough voice he said, “You’re going to be transferred over to a hospital that’s twenty minutes away from us. Nothing you say is changing my opinion.”

She nodded, but he wasn’t completely sure she understood that he meant it when he was going to do everything to protect her. “Because I’m your legal guardian and you’re under the age of eighteen.”

“You’re my…?” Jellybean was taken back by this information.

“He’s not your legal guardian. I am…” His voice cracked. “If-If anything, oh my god,” He said with tears falling down his concerned face. Betty reached over to catch his tears and wiped them. She went in for an affectionate, sloppy kiss and then embraced him.

“It’s not your fault Jughead,” Jellybean said, causing Jughead to turn his head from Betty’s soft shoulder.

“It’s not either of your faults,” Betty said. Her words whispered down Jughead’s back, sending him chills. This was one of his biggest fears until it became a reality, his father hurting his sister.

His hands tightened around Betty, taking away any room in between them. He wanted to feel her sweet, strawberry scented body on his. Afterall, her touch melted his body and made him feel a lot better. He sighed and let go of his grip on Betty.

Jughead turned to Jellybean and sniffled. “I’m not apologizing for getting mad, but I’m glad you’re okay,” Jughead said with a small smile gracing his face. He walked up to Jellybean and gave her a small hug so he wouldn’t hurt her.

“I love you…” Jughead started. Jellybean cocked her head to the side as a smile tugged on the corner of her lips. She was surprised how Jughead now said phrases like that so...Openly. He had never been the type to say ‘I love you’ even to family. She didn’t know if he could really feel love after being left down for so many years. And it wasn't just like this sad gesture. Now she had heard this phrase twice and one of the times, it was actually directed towards her. Obviously she knew he loved her, but in the Jone's family, it wasn't a common phrase...At all. It was actually rare. “...So don’t scare me like this-”

“-You want me to live in New York,” Jellybean stated. None of them could tell how Jellybean felt about it, including Jellybean. She knew Jughead would never let her near Fp, at least anytime soon and she understood why. The last straw was drawn. 

Jughead looked to Betty as if she wasn’t going to approve. She knew family and cherished every moment she had with them. She gave a small, but warm smile. “I can’t let you get hurt because I’m pretty sure it hurts me more than you,” He gave a stiff laugh and wiped away any more tears that had fallen.

He turned to Betty, “What do you want to do Betts? Fly to riverdale and drive home or just fly home?”

Betty reached for his hand, “We can just fly, my mom can drive the car back and then fly home. She has a close friend, Veronica’s mom Hermione, that lives close to us and I’m sure she wants to stay with her over me.”

Jughead intertwined their fingers, “Betty…” His voice was so soothing to her. He appreciated and cherished every single thing about Betty. His pleads to make her understand that and to not be self demeaning to herself are one of the most pure things. He hated things about himself for so long and he wasn’t going to let Betty do the same anything. Just saying her name, Betty understood what he was trying to tell her. She nodded and he continued on to her being comfortable around her mom. He cares about every feeling Betty has. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to see your mom if you don’t want to.”

Betty cocked her head to the side and with a small smirk, she said, “You’ll be there with me so it’s okay.”

“Okay,” Jughead turned to Jellybean, “So we’ll probably be flying in too late for visiting hours, but we’ll see you tomorrow…”

“You guys said ‘I love you’ to each other when you came in,” She taunted Jughead innocently.

Betty’s face began to blush a soft, sweet pink as Jughead’s cheeks also tinged with a light shade of blush. Jughead detangled his fingers from Betty’s and placed his arm around her waist.

He scoffed, “Jellybean, we’re not doing this right now.”

“Do you guys live together?”

Betty smiled, “No, we both live on the same street so we’re always at one of each other’s houses.”

“Change of topic, what part of your abdomen is it?” Jughead cocked his head to the side, clearly not done with the hospital situation.

“I think it’s two broken ribs…” She cleared her throat, “...After a couple days, they’ll probably ship me off after saying, ‘Be careful.’ Are you sure Jughead?”

Everyone in the room knew what she was questioning Jughead about. If he really wanted to take care of her. If he was going to make her meals. If he would take her shopping. If he was ready to give her one of those awkward girl talks because there was no woman figure in her life. If he was going to give her guy advice because she’s in high school. If he was was willing to give up some of his life for hers.

“JB, don’t make me retract my offer,” He sarcastically said. He glanced over to the clock, “If Betty and I are going to the airport and search for flights, we should probably get going. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

She nodded. Betty gave out a radiant smile, “It was nice meeting you Jellybean, I’m excited to hang out with you more.” It was a simple gesture. Betty meant that sincerely. She was excited in a sense. It was like she was going to have a younger sister who would gossip about school or talk about how lovestruck she was about a football player. Someone who would look up to her. That feeling filled Betty’s heart. It was like something she was missing without her family or even with her family because of the demeaning way she got treated while growing up.

She chuckled lightly, “I’m impressed Jughead...I didn’t know you were capable of catching the eye of someone like Betty.”

Jughead rolled his eyes. Betty gazed at Jughead while her hand traced down from his board shoulder to his warm hand. “You’re degrading Jughead, he’s a sweetheart,” Betty gave an amused grin by her sisters surprise that she would date him. How could she not? He was mysterious and broody and if that wasn’t intriguing enough, once you get to know the face behind the seducing, rich, black curls that bounce so gently as he moves, you could see that his heart was the most enticing part about him.

“He really wasn’t before he met you,” She taunted him.

“Okay, okay. This girl talk is great, but we need to go,” Jughead said while tightening his gentle grip on Betty’s waist which melted her side. He had touched her so many times, but something about his touch still sent waves of heat through her body as she gazed at him once more, taking in the view of his ocean blue eyes that she swore could command her to do almost anything and she’d happily oblige.

Betty waved her elegant fingers towards Jellybean before they left her room for the doctors to get her situated and check on in with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love how close they're getting with each other and how supportive Betty is about Jellybean. They'll talk more about her on the flight back home and it'll be a cute plane ride. Jellybean's going to have to adapt to their lives and be stuck around Bughead because they're not leaving each other's sides any time soon ;) Also now we can expect Jellybean to interrupt bughead which means there's like what four people who love to embarrass them. They're going to have to catch up with their friends now so expect the interrogation time period to start soon!


	17. Traveling Back With Company

Jughead was sitting on the seat closest to the window with Betty by his side. As the plane took off, Betty was holding his hand as he stared blankly through the little airplane window. He looked like he was pondering or considering something seriously.

She couldn’t help, but feel the urge to want to console him. Betty squeezed his hand, “Juggy, what is it? It’s over now, you don’t have to worry.”

He sighed before looking back to glance to Betty, “We’re basically adding another person into our lives that we’d be taking care of and I didn’t ask of your permission.”

“You didn’t have to,” She chuckled, “These are-”

“-Our decisions now Betty and I’m scared as hell that I have this many responsibilities on my plate now. I’m even more scared that you…” He trailed off, looking for the right words. His voice was benevolent, but distressed.

“Jughead, I’ll be damned if I break up with you. This is only showing me how caring you are...Which is an immeasurable amount,” She moved her hand to caress his chin.

He chuckled, “Am I really going to have to talk to her about guys...And periods? This feels derogatory to my mysterious and dark personality.” He was back to being his normal, sarcastic self. Betty had already calmed him in a matter of seconds.

“I got girl talk covered,” She winked and then giggled. Jughead loves her giggle, he swears it’s a sound he could never forget and always cherish. It was the sound of pure happiness that she expressed and it made him more than happy.

“Okay good because I really didn’t want to rate her guy friends,” He sighed in relief.

“Plus...I mean,” Betty nervously tucked a stray strand of hair behind her hair, “I should probably get used to your sister...If she’s going to be my actual sister one day.”

A small smile graced his face, “You know people are going to think we’re married and she’s our kid.”

The corner of Betty’s lips curved into a sweet smile, “We’d look pretty accomplished at almost thirty.” She moved her hand from his chin and rested it on his broad shoulder. She squeezed her grip on him.

She shook her head and then gazed to Jughead with her sweet eyes, “I’m so proud of you Jughead, there are so many people who wouldn’t do what you’re doing. I love you so much.”

He returned the gaze after he glanced down to her lips, “I thought we established this,” He sarcastically huffed. “I love you more than it’s physically possible.”

Betty bit her lip before looking down to Jughead’s lips and pressing a quick kiss on them. Her hand gripped onto his denim jacket as they kissed.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” Betty sweetly said, teary eyed. She wiped under her eyes, preventing any tears from coming down.

“The crying card does not make you win,” Jughead chuckled. 

“Stop it,” Betty teased as she leaned her head on Jughead’s shoulder.

He looked into her eyes, “Seriously Betts….It’s the other way around, I don’t think I deserve you.”

“Nicknames do not get you more points,” Betty objectified with a small smile on her face.

“What about your full name?” Jughead smirked as his hand played with Betty’s scarf that she’d thrown on over her sweater. “Not even Elizabeth?”

“Stop looking at me like that!” Betty giggled.

“Like what?” He cocked his head to the side.

“You’re like making me give in with your pouty face,” She smirked.

“No,” He simply replied while he moved the scarf so he could caress her neck. Betty watched his hand and bit her lower lip. “I think you just like when I touch you.”

“Stop it!” She squealed, “You’re trying to seduce me on this plane-”

He narrowed his eyes as a devious smile appeared on his lips, “-Are you saying it’s working?”

“Jughead! We’re on a plane,” She whispered sternly, but still loosely.

He shrugged while removing his hand from Betty's neck sending her chills. She watched his hand move wistfully. “I think you like being allured by me,” He beamed.

Her eyes widened, “Stop being so damn cute!”

“That’s a difficult request,” He snickered.

“Fine,” She said sarcastically shaking her head.

He hesitated to respond sarcastically, as they got closer to New York by the minute, Jughead’s anxiety was eating him.

“Betts, I don’t want to put this kind of stress on you,” He sighed, becoming worried again.

“Jug, you’re not. It’s like I finally get to have a sister. Also, don’t be so self demeaning, you raised her for more than half of your life. You know how to do this,” She grabbed his hand and caressed it in circular motions.

“We’re basically fostering a kid, that’s a gigantic step for a relationship,” He said while her green eyes pierced through his.

“I know, but we can do it Jug,” She said while squeezing his hand. A convincing smile played on her lips.

He gave in with a smirk, “How are you always so optimistic?”

“Love’s a powerful game,” Betty smiled as her arms reached around Jughead’s body to embrace him.

After a couple seconds, Betty pulled her torso away, but her hands remained wrapped around Jughead. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

In a whisper Betty said, “I’m going to sleep and so should you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jughead said as he started to close his eyes. How could he not sleep when the love of his life was right next to him, reassuring him that everything was going to be fine?

\--------

The loudspeaker woke the cuddling betty and Jughead when the pilot announced, “Attention all passengers, we will be landing in around twenty minutes, as expected. Our descend will be in around five minutes. Thank you for choosing American Airline today.”

 

“Hey sleepyhead,” Betty drowsily said as she moved her arms from Jughead and brushed back a curl that had fallen over his face while they were sleeping.

Jughead blinked a couple times to restore his vision that was blurry from just waking up. He smiled to Betty and tenderly placed a kiss on her temple. He stretched his arms up and then looked to his wrist that had a watch. “We slept for like five hours.”

“Good, we needed it,” Betty said as she nestled herself onto Jughead’s side once again. She reached over with one of her hands to caress Jughead’s cheek. “Are you feeling better?”

“I’m not the hurt one,” He replied as he positioned himself leaning on the wall of the window so Betty would feel more comfortable on him.

“I know, you went through a lot today,” She empathized as she cocked her head to the side so she could rest it in the crook of his neck.

There was some minor turbulence and Betty immediately grabbed onto Jughead’s hand. He smiled sweetly, “Are you afraid of crashing?”

“No…” Betty replied. Her voice sounded slightly high pitched when she said that. Betty continued on, “Not as much as when I was little.”

“We’re gonna start descending soon,” Jughead jokingly said, “So you can grab onto my hand although I don’t think that would break the crash.”

“It’s comforting,” She humorously sighed, “It’s poetic, I die in the arms of my loved one.”

“I like Romeo and Juliet better. Plane crash? It’s not nearly as epic,” Jughead said as he laid his head lightly on top of hers.

“True, you have a point.” As the descend started, there was a cloud they had to go through that caused the plane to shake slightly. Betty squinted her eyes shut and Jughead caressed her hand that was squeezing his tighter.

“Last time it was easier because we were sleeping when we arrived,” Betty apprehensively said.

“Betts, this happens every plane ride…” He stopped to think of how to comfort Betty, “Just close your eyes and think about something that makes you happy.”

“That’s clearly not working,” She said.

“How?” He asked.

“Because I’m in your arms.”

Jughead chuckled, “Does this help?” He started pepper-kissing her forehead down to her neck, sending shockwaves throughout her body. Betty giggled as she opened her eyes to see the love of her life. She had to admit even seeing his face, while she was in his arms, was more calming.

“Toni is probably going to interrogate us like crazy when they pick us up,” Betty smiled.

“Why Toni? She seemed quiet and respectful” He sarcastically moped. 

“She's is...She's not that bad!” Betty playfully said. “Okay on second thought, maybe I need new friends.”

\--------

“B! Come give me a hug,” Toni shouted across the airport parking lot. With Jughead lugging their suitcases, Betty ran ahead to embrace Veronica.  “We missed you so much B!” Toni beamed as they departed their hug.

As Jughead approached them, he released the luggage and went up to stand next to Betty.

“Come on, where’s my hug Jughead?” Toni taunted, knowing he was never the touchy-feely kind of person unless he were around Betty.

“I don’t do hugs,” Jughead responded with a smirk on his face.

“Oh, come on! Haven’t you missed us? Also, you hug Betty an exceptional amount…” She pleaded as her smile widened. She was planning something.

Jughead moved his arm to around Betty’s waist, “Duh, she’s my girlfriend,” He replied, but noticed that Veronica was staring at them rather judgingly.

It was like she was ignoring what they were saying and only watching their movements. “Wait, did you guys do it?” She asked with a devious and mischievous smile forming on her face.

“Do what?” Jughead asked, cocking his head to the side.

Immediately upon realization, Betty’s eyes widened. “T!” She shouted. Jughead quickly caught on. 

He turned to Betty with a look of disbelief on his face, “Is she actually asking us if we had sex?” 

She innocently battered her eyes, “Toni you can't ask those kind of questions?”

“Whyyyy?” She pouted, “What’s so bad about my question?”

“Okay, maybe my friends are that bad,” Betty gave a empathetic look to Jughead who was still in shock about Toni’s comment. As surprised and invaded as Betty felt, this was something she could expect coming from someone who had been hanging around her childhood best friend who has been there since the second she moved to her town in sophomore year of  high school.

Toni still had that malicious smile peering through her face. “Okay, I'm sorry,” Toni said in a sing songy voice. 'I’m sorry,' Her face didn’t look too sorry. It still looked just as curious as before. Veronica was a very open person who would he honest with just about anything. "In my defense," Toni said while pointing to herself, "There were way worse questions I was supposed to ask you."

Betty looked to Jughead wide-eyed. "Oh my god, Veronica gave her a list because she's with Archie," She chuckled.

“On a different note, I am so sorry to hear about your sister’s injuries Jughead,” Toni said, darkening the mood. 

Jughead shrugged, “Thanks, she’ll be a lot safer here. I just hope she doesn’t feel uncomfortable because she’ll have to transfer schools and all.”

“Hey, if she’s anything like you, it might be hard,” Toni chuckled. Yes, there were even planned jokes for Toni to make fun of Jughead. Jughead shot her a powerful glare. “I feel as if you don’t like me,” Toni sighed, pursing her lips. She didn't look hurt by it.

“I make friends with people I want to,” Jughead said defensively. Betty smiled as she cocked her head to the side, touching Jughead’s torso. 

“T, what is up with you today? You’re so...Energetic,” Betty asked, with that smirk still on her face.

“I haven’t seen my bestie in so long and Veronica put me up to all of this so technically it's her fault!” Toni crossed her arms, “I just missed you!”

“See Jug, she has good intentions,” Betty glanced up to see a half amused and half annoyed Jughead.

“I'm glad to have you two back,” Toni smiled, “And we’re excited to meet your sister.”

“Right, you and Veronica are probably going to be best friends with her. Great,” Jughead sarcastically said. 

“You bet we are,” Toin chimed in. She loved pulling people’s buttons, especially Jughead because he was an easy target. She was starting to learn why Veronica always teased him, it was fun, and you'd always get a laugh.


	18. Restarting Routines

Betty scrambled across her apartment to answer the doorbell that had just rung. She was wearing a black sweater and high-waisted jeans with Jughead’s beloved jacket, black thigh-high boots, and a necklace that Jughead had gotten her for their three month anniversary. 

It was six am and Jellybean was finally getting released from the hospital. Betty and Jughead had to be at work by seven thirty and are planning on dropping off Jellybean with Toni to get a tour of the new school she’ll be joining. It had been a week since they transferred Jellybean over and their work was starting up again and  La Fayette Junior-Senior High School had graciously offered to show Jellybean around and answer any questions she may have.

As Betty playfully swung the door open, she leaned on her right leg and smirked, “To what do I owe for this surprise? I was about to go pick you up.”

“I wanted to see you a little bit more today,” Jughead said with a small smile evident on his face.

“Awe,” Betty happily sighed, “I love you.”

“I know,” Jughead smugly shrugged.

“Hey, don’t get too confident,” Betty giggled, while lightly pushing his shoulder.

“Okay, do you have your keys and everything?” Jughead questioned as he embraced Betty.

“Wow, you’re just being a lovebug today,” Betty smiled while wrapping her arms around his torso, “And yes, I have everything.”

“Hey, don’t hurt the ominous and gloomy vibe I have going,” Jughead chuckled while taking in Betty’s sweet scent.

“I think it’s all an act,” Betty said while pulling away and gazing at Jughead.

Returning the act, Jughead mockingly said, “What? An act? Never Betts.”

The corner of Betty’s lips tugged upwards at the nickname and joke. “Okay, let’s go,” She said as she started to walk out of the door frame and into the hallway. “What are we feeling today? Stairs or elevator?” Betty asked.

“We can take the stairs,” Jughead replied.

As they entered the staircase, hand-in-hand, Betty glanced over to the banister. With a warm smile on her face, she said, “Remember when you kissed me right here?”

A smile graced Jughead’s face, “Mmm…” He paused as he glanced down to Betty’s neck where the silver diamond heart necklace gently rested against her dainty neck. “I kinda forget what happened,” He slyly spoke. His hands leaned down into Betty’s waist as he walked her forward. As Betty hit the banister, she giggled, and tilted her head up so her lips could press against his. Jughead leaned his head down so they could both get a better stance in their kiss. Betty sweetly wrapped her arms around Jughead and broke the kiss. 

“Okay, okay, we don’t want to be late,” Betty whispered as she stared at Jughead who was gazing at her. He had purposely not moved very far away from Betty. His lips were grazing against hers. She had to admit he was intoxicating her straight thinking, her will power was descending.

After a couple seconds Betty gave in and her lips were once again tasting the sweet scent of peppermint that Jughead gave off. As their kiss parted, breathlessly Jughead whispered, “You’re wearing it, the necklace.” His hands fidgeted with it and as his hands brushed against her flesh, a smile arose from her face. Their foreheads were still resting against each other’s. 

“Forsythe, I love it,” Betty sighed. Jughead smirked at the mention of his real name. Temptingly, he bit his lip wanting her lips on his before slowly moving his forehead.

“I really glad Elizabeth because I was so worried you weren’t going to like it, like maybe it was too much...I don’t know...For you. I don’t even know,” He gave a light chuckle, “I just got worried you wouldn’t like it.”

Betty smiled and flashed her eyes upwards to Jughead. She placed a kiss on his cheek before they started walking down the stairs. Betty reached for his hand and as her hand slid down his wrist, she could feel the matte black  _ Michael Kors  _ watch that she had gotten him for their anniversary.

As she laced their fingers together, Betty let out a relieved sigh. “I see you have the watch on.”

Jughead glanced down to their hands, he had even forgotten that he was wearing it because he hadn’t taken it off for the past couple of days. “It’s amazing, thank you so much Betts.”

Betty sweetly shook her head as an obvious smirk left her face, “You don’t have to thank me Jug.” She looked up to meet his gaze, “I love you.” They were at the end of the staircase at the lobby.

As Jughead opened the door to the lobby for Betty he beamed and lowly said, “I love you too.”

Just their luck, Toni was waiting for them. She already had as much information as she needed to report to Veronica, who was coming back in four days with Archie.

As Toni smiled, she clapped enthusiastically which lead to Jughead pulling his hand from Betty’s and rolling his eyes as he groaned, “What are you? Veronica’s spy?” 

“No,” She innocently gestured as she held her hands together, “I’m just a Betty and Jughead enthusiast.”

Betty giggled as she lopsidedly embraced Jughead’s side, “See Juggy, we have fans.”

Jughead’s arm reached out to hold Betty’s waist, “We have to go.”

\--------

“Jughead!” Jellybean shouted excitedly as she got up from the hospital bed and grabbed her suitcase.

“Hey Jellybean,” Jughead said as Betty stumbled in behind him, hands intertwined.

Betty had slightly tripped on a crack in between the tile floor. She tightened her grip on Jughead as her side pushed into his.

“Oh, Babe are you okay?” Jughead quickly responded to her fall as he glanced over to her. Betty gave a dorky grin and then she squeezed his waist, assuring him that she was fine. It was the  _ first time _ he had called her babe, and it was in front of  _ everyone _ . 

Betty’s eyes glistened as she shook her head. She let out a small chuckle, “I’m fine, I just tripped on this crack.” Her petite fingers gracefully pointed to the direction of the doorway where the small crack was. Her heel had gone into it. 

Jughead smirked and turned his attention back to Jellybean who was watching them as if they were entertainment. She really was in awe about their relationship. He had found someone he loved and was turning into the PDA kind of guy she never expected to be her brother. He was  _ so _ whipped.

Jughead realized he was gazing at Betty and closed his eyes when he looked to Jellybean again. His skin had a soft pink tone starting to cover his cheeks. He knew Jellybean could see him being all mushy with her. Totally degrading, but he couldn’t help it.

“Youuu,” Jughead tried to change the subject from what everyone was watching, them. “Have all your stuff?”

“Yep,” She simply replied, lightly tapping her suitcase. She cocked her head to the side in comprehension that Betty was wearing his jacket. She raised her eyebrow to Betty, “Is that Jughead’s jacket?”

Betty looked down to the denim jacket, she had forgotten she was wearing it. She tended to throw it on a lot without remembering that it wasn’t technically hers. Betty tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and with a smile said, “Yeah, it’s Juggy’s.”

“Cool cool, I actually love denim and know Jughead would never give me anything of his,” Jellybean chuckled.

Betty’s cheeks heated up as they flashed with fascia. She was acting so bashful in front of Jellybean and the more she thought about it, the more red her cheeks began to show.

Finally, Toni stepped into the room. She had went to search for a bottle of water and gave up when she found a water fountain. “Hey, I’m Toni. I’ll be chilling with you all day.”

Jellybean smiled, “Hi Toni.”

“I’m Betty’s friend, by the way that means we’ll be best friends and our other friend Veronica, is out with Archie at his hometown for a couple more days. So when they get back, we can all hang out,” Toni energetically and warmly stated.

“Great,” Jughead groaned, rolling his eyes. Betty giggled and playfully pushed his shoulder.

Jellybean smirked in sheer happiness about how nice Betty and Toni have been with her. “I’m excited to see my new school today,” She said, walking up to the door so they would leave.

“Yep,” Toni said turning out of the doorway to the patient sign-out desk, “I’ll be driving you there after we drop off Betty and Jughead.”

\--------

“Toni you better not pull some stupid shit today with Jellybean. You have to act like the adult-” Jughead started as he grabbed his navy blue satchel with beige straps. 

“-I’m very mature,” Toni interjected.

“Obviously because off the top of my head I can think of about a thousand times you were being mature. Let’s start of with Veronica’s party when you-” Jughead dryly started, facing Toni through the front mirror so she could see his fearless glare. He didn’t mean to be so short tempered today, but he was already terrified something would definitely go wrong with Jellybean and it’d be a smack in the face because he didn’t want to be anything like his father. Everyone mutually agreed that he was just stressed, plus there wasn’t ever a day where he wasn’t using his extremely brooding sarcasm with Betty’s friends.

“-Okay smartass I’ll be a big girl today and help you, but-” Toni cut herself off as she watched Jughead nervously trace the crimson crescent scars that once consumed his anxiety. Through the mirror, she glanced over at Betty who was closely studying his behavior. “...Are you okay?”

Without giving Jughead a second to even interpret and respond to Toni’s question, Betty replied, “T, he’s fine.” She intertwined their fingers and gave him a apprehensive and distraught look. Thank goodness it was Saturday because she’d be able to spend her breaks with Jughead and help him out instead of other days where she’d have to leave him in solitude to be swallowed by his thoughts. She hated how independent literature was, it changed people. Toni narrowed her eyes to Betty who ignored her looks.

Betty squeezed his hand and gave a smile to Toni and Jellybean as she opened the car door, “Behave yourself girls.” Jughead vacantly followed Betty out of the car door and watched Toni drive off. Tears were swelling in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” He croaked, breathing hitching as the words desperately left his throat. Betty immediately wrapped her arms around his shoulders, drowning him with her overwhelming scent.

“You can do this Juggy, you’re  _ not  _ like your father. You’re  _ not  _ going to follow in his footsteps because you’re  _ nothing  _ like him. At all,” She caressingly whispered in his ear, sending goosebumps down his body. She always knew what to say. She always knew what he was thinking. No matter how hard he was trying to avoid something and how discreet he was being about that thing, she could tell almost immediately. Like it was some sort of instinct. 

“I’m sorry I’m a mess,” Jughead light-heartedly joked as he finally released himself from Betty’s embrace.

“We’re both a mess, I think it’s cute,” Betty said as her cheekbones raised higher as her glistening smile made hid heart flutter, as always. It didn’t matter that he had seen her smile probably hundreds of times, when it was a sincere smile, it mean the world to him.

Jughead gave a faint, soft chuckle in response to her comment. He closed his eyes as he slowly inhaled and exhaled and before he could reopen his eyes, a pair of lips were melting onto his. His breathing hitched in Betty’s mouth as he eased into the kiss. As he pulled away, his eyes emitted a carefree and exultant sensation. She knew how to calm him down, she always did.

Breathing heavy, in a low voice, he said, “Betty, you’re the best fucking thing that’s ever happened to me.”

"Likewise," Betty happily shrugged as Jughead's arm reached around her body to hold her waist and they started walking into the Writing Center.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I wasn't active for around a month. I posted one or two little one shots while I was gone, but going to an all honors school gets to me sometimes. I wanted to take care of my mental health and revisit that motivation that drives me to write which I did ;) I hope you guys liked this fluffy chapter because there's going to be a lot more coming, obviously! Next chapter there is going to be some POV with Toni and Jellybean instead of just Betty and Jughead, but don't be alarmed because I'm gonna put them in for the most part. Excited to be writing again :)


	19. Following Schedule

“Wow,” Cheryl deviously chuckled. She demeaningly raised her eyebrows as Betty and Jughead entered into the small kitchen to place their lunches in the refrigerator. “Still sleeping together I see. Is Betty...Really that good?” She snarled.

“Just because we work for you doesn’t mean you have a free pass to know our business Cheryl,” Betty retorted, rolling her eyes.

“I mean...Why else would you two be together?” Cheryl daintily spun her fingers so they were pointing at Jughead and said, “Come on! She’s such a golddigger.”

Jughead exhaled loudly as he positioned his head towards Cheryl to glare at her. He bitterly scorned, “You have absolutely  _ no  _ reason, regardless of authority, to ever say such spiteful and abhorrent insults that are complete fiction to...Either of us! I’ll be damned if you try to hurt Betty again.”

Cheryl scoffed and grabbed her coffee from the coffee machine and batted her eyes innocently before snarking, “I mean if she’s that good in bed...You’re under a spell.”

“Oh and Cheryl,” Betty called after her who immediately re-entered the room. Jughead glanced over to Betty confused, a shrewd, lopsided smile crossing her face. 

“Yes, sister dearest,” She said with a fake smile.

“He begs for it,” Betty mischievously whispered as her hand delicately traced down Jughead’s abdomen. 

Cheryl disgustedly huffed as she crossed her arms, huffed, and stomped off to the her office, heels ferociously clacking.

“Betty?” Jughead said in a low, almost hushed voice that was inaudible to even someone if they were in that room.

Betty turned to Jughead and rested her elegant hands on his waist. She blinked a couple times, almost as if she were coming back into her own body and then her green eyes looked into his inexplicable blue ones. “S-Sorry,” She stuttered, “I love to see that look on her face.” Betty shook her head, “I let her get the last word throughout my entire high school and college years, I’m  _ not _ letting that happen anymore. I’m  _ not  _ getting taken advantage of in any way, shape, or form again.”

“Not that I was complaining," He murmured, Betty could feel his smirk at his lips grazed over her cheekbone. "It's okay,” He whispered back as he planted a kiss on her temple.

\--------

“Is Jughead always upset?” Jellybean turned to look at Toni.

Toni let out a light chuckle and then sighed, “He’s always a smartass with Betty’s friends, but lately he’s been under a lot of stress.” She quickly glanced over to her, “He cares an insanely immense amount about you.” Toni turned into the parking lot of the high school. 

“I know,” Jellybean groaned, causing Toni to giggle.

“Welcome to  La Fayette Junior-Senior High School kiddo. Also, there are like five other students joining the district and going to the tour today so don’t feel bad about the kids helping out on a Saturday because they volunteered to.”

“La Fayette Junior-Senior High School,” Jellybean slowly repeated, “Hopefully I’ll be friends with all of them by the end of this tour.”

“Kill em’ J, I know they’ll love you,” Toni replied as she unlocked the car door so Jellybean could go to the entrance of the school.

As soon as Toni watched Jellybean safely enter the building, she grabbed her phone from the centre console. She clicked on the  _ Instagram  _ app and started scrolling and occasionally liking some posts. Her phone started to buzz as Veronica’s picture took over the screen.

“Hey Ronnie, how’s Archie’s old place and family?” Toni asked as she placed the phone to her ear.

“Oh my god T, it’s so great. I literally love his family and Archie’s been so sweet. How’s life with chaos?” Veronica giggled.

“Honestly it was so intense, did Betty give you details?” Toni interrogated.

“Ugh none, B’s not telling me any gossip!” She pouted.

“I swear they’re so loyal to each other, it bugs me,” Toni joked.

Veronica chuckled, “She’s never gonna tell us anything anymore, I’m honestly jealous of Jughead. He gets so much time with her. Oh!” She practically shouted, “What about my questions?”

Toni shook her head smiling, “I literally didn’t even get to the second one! Betty looked like she was gonna kill me for a hot second and she wouldn’t even tell me in private if they slept together!”

“Man, why are they such a good couple?” Veronica humorously huffed.

“Sweet Pea and I weren’t even that close at three months. They just…” Toni threw her hand that wasn’t holding the phone in the air, “They can simply breath and the other interprets it as this complex system like thing I can’t grip. They’re  _ so  _ whipped.  _ So  _ whipped. And it’s not even like one of them is whipped, it’s like both of them are. Jughead’s even starting to say ‘I love you’ and kiss her in public. It’s like he’s a different person with her that I didn’t even think was possible.”

“Hold the phone! Jughead said ‘I love you’ in public?! Oh my god, who is he?” Veronica instantly replied.

“Yeah! Like they say it every two seconds and get this! He called her ‘Babe’ today. Babe. Freaking babe! Jughead Jones if falling hard for our girl.” Toni’s eyes widened as she thought about their relationship.

“I ship them so hard...I love being an invasive friend,” She sighed.

“I know girl, I know. Anyways, I should probably show my face to the principal at some point because he’ll probably be seeing a lot of me soon. Bye Ronnie.”

“Bye T,” Veronica said.

\--------

Betty gasped as she quickly whipped her head around to face the figure that just wrapped their arms around her. When seeing Jughead’s smirk, because he had intentionally scared her, she reluctantly giggled. 

“Hey Betts,” He said as he pulled up a chair closely next to her and sat down, arms around her shoulders still. He gently rested his neck on the crook of hers and pepper-kissed her down her collarbone.

Betty pulled out her earbuds and turned her attention to him. She smiled, relishing the kisses he had offered her so easily. 

As Jughead masagically rubbed Betty’s forearms in circular motions, he sighed. “You’re muscles are so tense...What’s bothering you?” He asked. His brows furrowed, knowing something was wrong.

Betty cocked her head to the side, resting her head on her own shoulder while Jughead took the other side. She was fidgeting with a pencil. Realizing he was watching her nervous habits as well, she placed her pencil in the center of her desk. “I’ve just been thinking a lot...What if your sister doesn’t like me? I know, I know it’s stupid, but I’m so excited and I don’t want to ruin anything or make her moving any worse-“

“-Betts are you kidding? She hasn’t stopped talking about how excited she was to be around you since she found out she was getting transferred. I know she hasn’t said that in front of you, probably one of those teenager things, but she’s known you for two seconds and I’m pretty sure she’d choose you over me...Which is kind of embarrassing because I’ve known her for sixteen years.” He continued rubbing Betty’s forearms, relieves her of her worries like he always did. 

Betty chuckled and closed her eyes, she almost looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry, my anxiety’s been super weird today.”

Jughead sighed before he further nestled his head onto her skin, making sure she could feel his comforting presence. “You don’t have to apologize for anxiety Betty. Hell, we’d both be apologizing for a while. Don’t you think?”

Betty gave a light laugh and then raised her right hand to wipe a tear that had been threatening to leave her eye. “I just want this to be perfect for you...For us,” She turned her head to look at his mesmerizing blue eyes. 

She instantly felt relieved. He was like her home. If someone asked her where her home is, she’d probably point to Jughead. He was this one place where she didn’t have to worry about what he might say, although she may worry, she knows that he’ll accept her no matter what. That’s because she’s his home too. A place he can feel love and compassion. That’s  _ no where  _ else than Betty. 

“Ready to walk home?” He calmly asked. 

Betty looked at him. She speculated all of his features. How nice his jaw bone was, how perfectly heart shaped his lips were, the slight blush that was only reserved for her, the perfect curls that toppled so gracefully that only she was allowed to touch. He was hers, there’s no doubt about it. “Betty?” He questioned. 

She lightly shook her head back into reality “Yeah?” She asked back in a quieted voice. 

He brought his hand up to trace her jawline, “What are you thinking about?”

“You,” She smirked. 

“Oh yeah?” His eyes glistened a little bit. How could he have been so lucky to get someone like her? He’d always ask that question and he didn’t think he would ever stop. 

She innocently batted her eyes and nodded as she nervously tucked a strand behind her small ear. 

The corner of his pink lips tugged upwards, giving her a subdued smile. She liked that smile, he never did it for anyone else. “What about me?” He was still curious. 

“How I’m the only person lucky enough to have you,” Betty looked up again, “And the only person you can kiss or touch is me.”

How was she such a mesmerizing sweetheart? How did his heart physically beat for her? How was he the one who got to call her babe? How? He wasn’t sure, but there was one thing he was sure about. That he would  _ never  _ let her go.

“Fuck,” He uttered in a hushed voice. His fingers still drawing meaningless scribbles on her skin.

Her eyebrows flinched, surprised by his language. It wasn’t unusual of him to curse, but out of nowhere? She searched his blue eyes, but could only find a sure smile plastered on his face.

“What?”

“Stop doing that,” He weakly said, as if he were in a trance. 

“Stop doing what?” Her head leaning closer to his, foreheads brushing against each other’s. 

“Expecting me to do nothing when you keep saying all those things,” He said under his breath. 

“ _ All those things? _ ” She reiterated, a curve from her lips going upward. She liked this game.

“All those nice things Betts. I know what  _ you’re _ trying to do,” He was softly saying. His breath was tingling on her neck. 

“Are  _ you _ trying to stop me?” She shyly, yet cunningly asked. 

Jughead narrowed his eyes as his smile grew, “We’re at work Betty. You’re being unprofessional.”

Betty jokingly sighed and started to stand, leaving him lingering to taste her lips. “You’re right Forsythe…” The words playfully danced from her lips. “...Shall we walk back home to your sister and get her some food as proper and professional adults would?”

He bit his lower lip debating his intentions. He stood from his chair, to hold her side as they walked home.

His hand melted at the touch of Betty’s waist. It didn’t even matter than he’s held her about a hundred other times, each chance he got, he was more than satisfied.

“Okay,” Betty said, looking around, “You have your satchel and my backpack is right here…” She swung the strap around one shoulder and turned her attention back to him. “Ready?”

“Mmm,” Jughead mumbled, his attention being stolen by her side that she gently leaned on his. “Tired?” He asked. 

“No,” She responded, “I just wanna feel you. It’s comforting.” Jughead placed a kiss on her temple and they started to leave the office and head downstairs to the actual Writing Centre. 

“Did Jellybean tell you anything about her tour?” Betty asked. 

Jughead chuckled, “She’s too busy hanging out with Toni to actually answer me. I’m assuming.”

She smiled, “Orrrr it means that it went terribly...But you’re probably right.”

As Jughead was going to respond, his phone started to buzz. He shuffled his one hand not on Betty through his satchel until he grabbed his phone and put it to his ear. 

“Veronica?” He asked in complete surprise. He quickly removed he phone from hovering around his ear and took another look at the contact name, yep it was the one and only Veronica Lodge. 

Betty couldn’t decipher what she was saying across the line because Jughead suddenly held the grip a little tighter on his phone. “Great,” He flatly said.  _ Sarcasm _ , Betty thought. Why would he even be talking to her?

“Babe?” She asked which quickly brought his attention back to her. 

Then she heard a squeal on the other line and a scream. She had heard her call him babe. It was the only logical excuse, maybe. Jughead mouthed the words, “One minute,” to which she nodded. 

“Veronica, no offense...Really, but you need to stop. If we didn’t tell Toni, we’re not telling you?” He waited a couple seconds of Veronica’s pouts and cut her off “-How is this any of your business again?”

Betty was still watching him tentatively, trying to pick up on what he had originally been talking about. “Okay...As great as it is talking to you, I gotta go.” He hung up the phone. He wouldn’t be able to if he had tried to excuse himself. 

“What was that?” Betty inquired, “Why did she call you?”

Jughead paused for a second, thinking of how to act. It was quite obvious they could read each other, no exceptions. He narrowed his eyes, “Nosy prick Betts. Why is she so curious about everything?”

Betty giggled. “She really called you to ask about us?”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “I wish she called you because I’m still not used to all this interrogation every two seconds.” He pulled it off. Plus, it wasn’t like Veronica hadn’t asked about them, it just wasn’t the primary focus of the conversation.


	20. Family Dinner

“Yeah, we should order Chinese. Jellybean and I love Chinese food...And,” He momentarily paused as the elevator opened. They started walking down the hallway. “I also know it’s one of your favorites,” He smirked. 

A sweet smile came across her face. He had remembered. One of their first unofficial dates that involved Jughead’s house and Netflix, Jughead asked what her favorite takeout was and she said Chinese. He had convinced her that she was beautiful the way she was and shouldn’t worry about what her mom thought about her. It was also her first time eating takeout since middle school because Alice had put her on a strict diet that consisted of small meals throughout middle and high school as well as college. Not even Veronica could convince her to get takeout, but somehow he batted his eyes a certain way that melted Bett’s heart.  It was also one of the first times she looked at herself and felt good about her body. The calls with her mom became less frequent under the influence of Jughead who she was greatly thankful for, Alice was quite the handful. Before Betty, Jughead wasn’t really good with expressing emotions, but Betty brought out the better side of him. The side that was good at comforting and reassuring. “You said I looked beautiful the way I was...Even though I had makeup smeared all over my face from crying and probably looked like shit,” She chuckled. 

As Jughead scrambled through his satchel to find his keys, in a hushed voice he said, “That’s because you always look beautiful.”

Jughead was turning the key through the lock and Betty’s soft fingers lightly touched his jaw and directed his eyes to meet hers. “I love you baby.”

As Jughead’s slim fingers turned the door handle he smirked, “Is babe our new thing?”

In a slightly seductive voice she whispered, “If you want it to be.” Betty had intentionally waited before slowly retreating her hand back down to resting it on her waist while the door opened.

Before Betty could even comprehend what was going on from the inside of the apartment she heard a high pitched, “B!”

“V?” She immediately asked, eyes scrambling to her friend who had been gone for two weeks. She threw her arms around Veronica’s neck and smiled. “Why are you back early? I thought you were coming in two days, not that I’m complaining.”

“Wanted to see me girl a little bit early! Heard lots has happened,” Veronica said with a pleased smile, realessing the embrace. “Nice moves on your man I see, you’re becoming more advanced…” She whispered, expecting Betty to immediately shut her down. 

“We aren’t having this talk V because nothing happened,” Betty said with a forceful smile in attempt to make Veronica drop conversation.

Jughead was already in the kitchen trying to sort out the food. Archie joined him, trying to avoid whatever he thought the girls were talking about. As Archie grabbed a couple bowls from above his head, Jughead simply glanced up to confirm it was his friend who was helping him. “I swear the whole time we were at my house Veronica kept complaining about missing Betty. Those two are dangerously close. Sometimes I think they’re dating each other more than us,” He chuckled.

A smirk appeared on Jughead’s face, “You know I’ve had my conspiracies too, I think you’re right. B and V are together.”

Jellybean has just walked out of her new room. She walked over to Veronica and Betty. “You sure you haven’t slept with-Oh heyyyy,” Veronica lately attempted to cover up her interrogation from Jellybean. 

“Nasty,” She chuckled. Betty giggled, “Isn’t it? She’s always curious about that stuff.”

A smirk started to rise on Veronica’s face, “Was there any handsome tour guides today?”

For a moment her face flushed a light shade of pink. Neither of the Jones’ were big on blushing, it’s something they were usually good at concealing. That’s a sure sign. 

“Omg you totally did! What was the hotty’s name?” Veronica asked, nudging her on the shoulder. 

“James,” She simply stated. 

“Any signs he likes you?” Veronica asked, going deeper into Jellybean’s life. 

“I mean...I got his number,” She smugly said, shrugging.

“I’m sure he likes you then,” Betty chimed in with a sweet smile. She glanced over to the now set dining room table, “Dinner’s ready, to be continued.” 

As they walked over to the table, Betty slid her arms around Jughead from behind. He smiled as he recognized the familiar scent and body against his. “Silly, this isn’t the order of how the silverware go,” Betty said while leaning more on his side to reach and reorganize the silverware to be in the proper order. 

He linked his arm around Betty’s waist. Jughead could feel more heat than usual being projected from her body to his. He brought his hand to her forehead naturally and confirmed that she had a slight fever. With a smirk, he said, “Trying to sabotage us all by getting us sick? Wow Betts.” Instantly Betty pressed her delicate fingers on top of hers and could even then, still feel the heat. 

“Baby I think you’re the only one who’d get sick,” She whispered. Then turning her attention to the group, Betty then asked, “Can you show me where your Tylenol is?”

He nodded and proceeded to walk Betty over to his bathroom. He quickly kissed Betty’s temple before lifting her up to sit parallel of him on the counter. She giggled in response.

As tempting as Betty was, he controlled himself. As he reached and opened the medicine cabinet, she started to play with one of his top buttons to his pollo. He had dressed nice today. There were only three buttons. 

Trying to ignore the trace of heat he can still feel on him as she unbuttoned the first two, he commented, “Really want me tonight huh?”

“You look better with these two down. See?” She asked, eyes looking to the mirror, indicating to look in it. 

“I prefer my chest to be seen by one person and today’s not that day…” He chuckled. Her slim finger player with his collar and then she reached out for the medicine he had grabbed. “...I’m going to ignore your attempts at seducing me for the fact that when you’re sick you are a lot more flirtatious.”

Betty gave a sarcastic pouty face and then opened her hand that was curled, careful not to drop the medicine. She fidgeted for a couple seconds and Jughead could tell. It was the first time she was taking pills since her mom had forced her hysterically crying self to swallow diet pills. The sweet smile faded off her face.

Jughead poured water into a  _ Dixie  _ cup and handed it to Betty. He placed a hand on her shoulder, “Bett’s this’ll only help you for your fever, it’s not like anything your mom gave you.”

She hesitantly nodded, tears evidently glassing up her eyes. “Baby,” He started, “I wouldn’t hurt you…” He stopped for a second to think, “...I have a headache, I’ll take them with you.”

“I don’t want you to just be saying you have a headache,” Betty said, voice slightly hoarse from choking back down the cries. 

“No I have an actual headache, it’s been bothering me since I woke up,” He replied. 

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have given you something,” Her brows furrowed. 

“Don’t worry about me Betty,” He gave Betty a reassuring smirk.

Her hand went to reach for his hand once he got out two more pills. “Kinda my job, more than anything,” She said while rubbing her thumb in circular motions against the back of his hand. 

“All you have to do is put them in the back of your mouth and then tilt your head back while you drink the water,” Jughead motioned to their hands that were holding the medicine.

She gave a small nod, but had an easing smile tugging at the corner of her lips. They both swallowed the medicine.

“I’m so proud of you Baby,” Jughead said while wrapping his arms around Betty’s back. 

“Thank you,” She whispered in an almost inaudible voice. She was honestly thankful Jughead helped her over than because that could have lead to an anxiety attack later on.

Still in the embrace, Jughead lifted Betty from the counter to once again stand on her own feet. 

————

Betty and Jughead heard muffled whispering as they waltzed into the dining area. Veronica was wide-eyed and Archie had a guilty, yet excited look on his face. Jellybean was listening intently to whatever the two were discussing.

“Gossiping about us in our house? What disrespect,” He sarcastically rolled his eyes. 

_ Our house _ , she thought. It sounded nice. It sounded like someone wanted her. Someone needed her to be with them. Jughead being that person made it that much better.

“Heyyy,” Veronica immediately turned to see the two walking to the table and sitting down. She had ignored Jughead’s comment. She was also trying to make her face less shocked.

“Bro I starved while waiting for you, I’m eating,” Archie said, picking up his fork.

Veronica elbowed him and flashed him a glare, “Manors!” She hissed. Jellybean giggled. 

“So I wanted to propose something...” Veronica started, her eyes glistening with excitement.

“That’d be…” Jughead said, motioning her hand to stop being dramatic and just tell him. Veronica had this way she spoke and sometimes Jughead just wished she’d get straight to the point. 

“Girls’ shopping trip and you can have a boy’s night,” Veronica squealed with delight at her idea. 

Jughead groaned and then scoffed, “She’s been at my house for a single day and you already want to go shopping?”

“Doesn’t it sound great B?” Veronica asked, turning to Betty with a knowing smile that her best friend would agree with whatever she says. 

“She has a fever,” Jughead replied for her.

Veronica put on a pouty face when she pleaded, “Shopping can never hurt! It only helps.”

“Oh my god,” Jughead whispered to himself when Betty gave him puppy dog eyes.  _ Fuck,  _ he had thought. Of course the love of his life would get what she wanted. There was no question there. He couldn’t even look her in the eyes and say no, there was something so...So different that he still wasn’t used to. Her eyes eyes were so green and so promising, how could he even say no? “Fine,” He reluctantly gave in, throwing his hands in the air and then grabbing a box of fried rice, “But if Betty feels any worse, Veronica I’ll be damned if you think a dress or shirt is more important than her health.” Betty gave a quick smile and a peck on the cheek before returning to eat her white rice and teriyaki chicken. 

Veronica jokingly raised her two fingers to her forehead to give a solute, “Yes sir, she will return from the shopping trip if her symptoms worsen.”

“Okay, I’m not that controlling,” He scoffed. 

“You’re just...Over protective of her,” Veronica hesitantly said, trying to choose the best words to express her opinion.

“I think it’s cute,” Betty said, waving her fork before biting into a piece of chicken. Jughead smirked while getting a spoonful of his rice. 

“No for sure, but it’s just a cold…”

“That we want to get better? You most of all people so you can hang out with Betty.”

Veronica scoffed, “Please Betty’s literally had the flu before and I was there the whole time!”

Jughead groaned, “Fine, fine! Why don’t you just have a sleepover with her tonight to boot?”

Jellybean was watching this whole conversation with a smirk on her face. She had never seen Jughead care about someone so much. Really, never care about a cold so much. It was different.  _ Very  _ different to see how much he loved someone. Usually he was good at hiding it, but truth be told he’s losing his touch.

“Change of conversation,” Archie quietly hummed and then said, “How was the tour?”

A very light shade of pink flushed her cheeks, “Yeah.”

“Mmm,” Veronica smirked, “That’s because she got a guy's number!”

Jellybean, although smirk still on her face, glared at Veronica.

“Ugh!” Jughead groaned, “I never vouched or signed up to hear about your love life.”

“I did!” Veronica exclaimed, “I’ll need more info later at our shopping trip.” She winked at Jellybean who replied with a small giggle and rolled her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to clarify that I'm not condoning you to take medicine if you're not actually sick. In this AU, Jughead's stress and anxiety results in a lot of headaches and migrains, don't worry, he wasn't lying. ANYWAYS, what cuties. They're both so whipped. Also...Wonder what they were talking about while Betty and Jughead went to the bathroom ;) We'll find out later...


	21. Poignant Remembrance

“So Jellybean, what stores do you like shopping at?” Veronica asked, turning her head to face her. They girls were walking down La Fayette Street, closer to the clothing shops.

“Well…” Jellybean paused and tapped her fingers against the blue jeans she was wearing, “I like  _ Forever 21 _ ...Or  _ H&M _ .”

“Say no more, both of those stores are a couple blocks down. Betty, you still good to walk that? We could grab a taxi,” Veronica kindly offered.

“What?” Betty asked. The one thing she hated about being sick was the strange, almost loopy feeling that messes with the brain’s concentration. “Sorry…”

“We can get a taxi if you want,” Jellybean reiterated to Betty.

Making cohesive and comprehensive thoughts was a blur to Betty. Not that this was a bad cold, it was just what a fever likes to bring. In a sense, Betty wished she could have stayed home and cuddled up with Jughead and watched  _ Netflix,  _ but that meant losing time she could be spending with his sister and her best friend. She felt partially obligated to have a good first impression with Jellybean and Veronica was right, shopping trips never hurt anyone...Right?

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” Betty dismissively waved her hand to the two girls. She was getting lost in her own thoughts.

“So I was thinking…” Veronica glanced over to see that neither of the girls were paying attention to her. Jellybean was now texting on her phone with a unmistakable smirk plastering her face. She giggled as her fingers danced on the screen, typing away.

Veronica quirked an eyebrow and sighed, “Girly, you got it bad.”

“Huh?” Jellybean asked, not paying attention.

“I said…” Veronica slyly started before snatching the phone from Jellybean who groaned, “...That you’re totally swooning. Hmmm, let’s see…” Veronica held the phone above Jellybean’s reach and scrolled through. “At least he’s whipped too.”

“Stop! Give it back,” Jellybean chuckled, still attempting to grab the phone from Veronica’s hands. 

“Fine, fine,” Veronica reluctantly slowly lowered the phone into Jellybean’s hands.

They all stopped at the traffic light. Betty, coming back to her senses momentarily, pointed across the street, “See that huge sign down that street?” Jellybean nodded, excitedly. “Yep,  _ Forever 21’s _ right there.”

“Chill.”

“So...What’s Jake look like?” Betty curiously asked.

Jellybean quickly corrected her, “James.”

“Right, sorry, they all sound alike,” She sarcastically said. “The thing about your brother is that Jughead Pendleton Jones III is a very unique name.”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s not gush about my brother, still gross you know.”

“Okay okay...So what look are we going for?” Betty asked, thinking about Jellybean’s style. It was definitely way cooler than whatever anyone in her grade was wearing.

“Retro...Oversized or cropped, there’s no inbetween...Graphic Tees.”

Betty smiled, thinking of how she probably got some of her sense of style from Jughead. “I dig it.”

“Same,” Jellybean giggled.

Once the walking light had turned green and started counting down from twenty, the girls continued to venture down the streets of New York. 

\--------

“Why is Jellybean in possession three giant shopping bags from  _ Forever 21 _ and one from  _ H&M _ ?”

“She needed a new wardrobe?” Veronica innocently batted her eyes, entering his apartment to sit next to Archie who was on the couch. The boys had been playing video games on Jughead’s playstation. 

While Archie wrapped his arm around Veronica, he quietly hummed, “He’s going to kill you.”

Betty walked in behind Jellybean. Jellybean started placing out the outfits for Jughead’s so called ‘approval,’ though as everyone predicted, he thought most of the outfits were scandalous and…‘Interesting,’ as he had described. Betty and Jughead were sitting on the other couch, perpendicular to Jellybean, Archie, and Veronica’s.

Betty had curled her legs against Jughead’s legs and nuzzled her head between his propped up right arm and warm chest. She had passed out the second she positioned herself against Jughead. His left arm was laid protectively around her waist.

“I’m gonna go retire to my bed, good night guys,” Jellybean said as she walked out of the living room, shopping bags covering her left arm and right arm remained texting James.

“I swear Jellybean’s going to be dating him within the next twenty-four hours,” Veronica chuckled. 

“Ronnie, we should probably head out, it’s almost eleven and Betty’s already sleeping,” Archie said, flipping his watch to his view and squeezing her shoulder.

“Okay, do you want me to wake her up? We could drag her back to our apartment,” Veronica looked to Jughead as she started to stand up.

“Actually tomorrow morning, before you head out to the office, can you drop off some pj’s and clothes for Betty? I don’t think she’s going to work tomorrow,” Jughead asked in a hushed voice, determined to not wake up Betty.

Veronica smiled, thinking about how lucky Betty was to have Jughead. “Sure thing, do you want Toni to pick up and entertain Jellybean for the day?”

“At like twelve, that’d be great because she’s off for the day tomorrow. Jb will probably be sick of the house by then.”

Archie opened the door for Veronica and she nodded gratefully that he was kind enough to let them hang out for a couple hours and Archie said his goodbyes.

“Betts,” Jughead softly said, massaging Betty’s shoulder with his thumb.

“Mmm,” She drowsily breathed under the little whistling sound she made during her sleep. 

Jughead smoothly slipped away from Betty’s side on the couch and swooped her small body up so he could let her comfortably sleep in his bed. 

————

Betty groaned as she started to feel her sore body. She had forgot that a fever makes her feel like shit. The aching was definitely kicking in.  _ Dang it,  _ she thought to herself. Betty could feel the heaviness in her chest.

_ Wait,  _ something was different. Betty could tell and she hasn’t even opened her eyes. Her fingers started to trace down sheets and then...She felt a body? “What the fuck did I do last night?” She murmured to herself while her hands graced over the body. Abruptly, a hand laid on hers and Betty’s eyes shot open. She gasped which lead to a mini coughing spell. 

His blue eyes were gently gazing at her. He was propping himself up on his right arm and his left was now stroking Betty’s. He chuckled, “What the fuck did you think you did last night?”

She giggled, a light shade of blush creeping up on her cheeks. “I have no idea...I literally didn’t remember you moving me here. Damn it Juggy, you knew that would scare me!” She cleared her throat, speaking louder wasn’t any help.

All she heard was him snicker and she closed her eyes again. “That’s not funny.” She pouted.

“I love you,” He whispered as he kissed her temple.

“Juggy, this is why I said you’d be the only one to get sick!” She pointed out.

Jughead paused for a moment, she was right. She always was in his book, Betty could probably convince him that the sky isn’t blue if she were that determined. What stupid argument could he make? “Mmm twenty-four hours of medicine?”

Without hesitation, she simply replied, “It’s been twelve.”

He smiled. Even in Betty’s drowsy state, she was able to put up a good fight  _ and _ win. “Twelve...Twenty-four,” He said while placing pepper-kisses down her neck which earned him a giggle from his sleepy girlfriend, “Tomato...Tomato.” A small sigh escaped Betty’s lips and then a cough. Damn that cold. She flashed her green eyes opened and her eyes glistened at Jughead. He charmingly leaned back onto his right arm, his muscle flexing at the pressure.

Betty bit on the corner of her lip and then curiously asked, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you work out, but it looks like you do.” Her fingers skimmed over his muscle, sending chills down and up his arm.

Jughead quirked a brow and smirked, “Almost everyday, I just go right after work on my writing days while you’re still working..” He saw Betty’s smirk and gave a lopsided smile, “...It-it’s definitely not a big deal, not like I have the biggest muscles.”

“Baby, you look so good.” She giggled. He shrugged. “Why do you always cover your arms...” She paused as she looked up to meet his eyes and then furrowed her brows, “...And legs? You never show off your body.” Betty asked as her fingers drew meaningless shapes on his bicep, tips of her fingernails occasionally brushing up against his white undershirt.

“You jealous of my clothes?” He joked, ignoring the slight frown that was creeping onto his face. There were still some things that deep down inside hurt and he couldn’t explain why. They just did.

The sweet smile slowly faded from Betty’s face. She repositioned herself to lean on one of her arms while she quietly choked down a cough, trying not to ruin whatever moment was happening. There was a dismal silence now filling the room. The only thing Betty could hear was his unsteady breaths. 

Her eyes slowly flickered up to meet his solemn graze. He slowly leaned his head down so his lips could meet hers. It was passionate and chaste at the same time. Betty was slowly inching closer to Jughead, wrapping her one arm around his waist and cupping his cheek with her other hand. She could feel the overwhelming sensation of desolation and heartbreak that was drowning him. Tears were swelling his eyes and he was trying to blink them back down. He felt like each blink was burning his eyes. “I - love - you,” He said in a low whimper through their kiss. 

She faintly nodded and tilted her head, melting herself further into the kiss. In a staggered breath she whispered, “Tell me what’s wrong.” Holding him tighter, fingers pressing tighter against the his undershirt, she, almost inaudibly, softly said through her breath, “ _ I’m here. I’m here. _ ”

He winced in pain, feeling the sensation of his nails digging into his palms. His head defeatedly leaned back from Betty as a low, soft sob was starting to shake his body. 

They both had it. Anxiety. A lot of anxiety. An immeasurable amount from the tragedies and trauma their families caused that still haunts them. That’s the thing about anxiety. It doesn’t go away. Sometimes it pretends that it’s gone. Tricks the mind that it left. Maneuvers the brain to forget about what happened. That nothing really happened, at least not that they remember. Manipulates the person to think everything’s alright. Until it isn’t. Until everything falls apart. That’s when the memories come back. That’s when that feeling starts to come back. And don’t worry anxiety is a damn good actor. Well...It told you not to worry.

“I’m sorry,” He mewled through the tears that stung his burning hot face.  “I-I’m sorry. I-I’m sorry,” Are the only words he could manage to get out through his cries. 

Betty only pulled Jughead closer to her. She nuzzled her head in the crook of Jughead’s neck, forcing his head to rest on hers. “I’m here, I’m here,” She soothingly reiterated herself in attempt to comfort him. 

Tears still fled from his face, but there wasn’t any more sorrowful sound that came with his crying. He had cried too much. He was trying to stop because there had been too many cries let out for his father. Today wasn’t another day he’d waste more on him. Anxiety still rushing through his body like adrenaline, pumping distress through his veins, trying to make itself at home. Trying to inhabitant itself within him again. 

He started to hyperventilate. He tried to pull himself away from Betty, but her grip on him was too strong. Almost too strong for his shaky body. And she wasn’t gonna let go. He couldn’t describe the connotation he got from it. Was it positive or negative? All he knew was that it wasn’t something he was used to. Comfort. “Betty stop,” He weakly hissed at her. 

Betty glanced down to see the blood dripping from the crimson crescents on his palms. She forcefully grabbed his hands and held them tight, letting him know she could handle any pressure from squeezing them.

Through his jagged breathing, he manage to hoarsely spit out, “I feel like - I’m - taking advantage of you - The - The kissing. Everything.” His head was laying on the side of hers, he began to loosen the grip on one of his hands, and clutched onto the hem on the side of her shirt. 

Tenderly and serenely, she raspily whispered, “I’m here for you one thousand percent Juggy. For everything. You’re my boyfriend, you’re allowed to kiss me. You just needed to know I was here...And I am. Don’t let go.” She coughed and then continued, “We need to stick together. I’m here. You can tell me anything and I’ll still love you. I’ll always love you.”

Jughead could fear more tears coming from the corner of his eyes. Only this time, it wasn’t about his father. It was for the undeniable love and compassion he felt towards Betty Cooper. His blue eyes met her green ones and a single tear fled down his fair colored cheek. His breathing slowed. After thirty seconds, he was able to almost steady his breathing although it was still slightly sporadic. He was still watching the way she blinked and staring in awe of how someone could have such beautiful green eyes. As he leaned in for a kiss, he heard Jellybean from the hallway, inching closer to his room.

“Hey Jug,” She shouted, “Toni’s coming early…” As she cracked his door open, not looking at him, she asked, “Why were you crying?” Glancing up from her phone for a split second, she saw Betty’s lips locked with his commented, “Oh hey Betty.” Furrowing her brows, she glanced up again for a quick gaze. She scrunched up her nose and raised her hand to her eyes, “Ew wait...I’m gonna go.” Clearly in her own world, she was oblivious to the blood his hands were producing and the fact that both of them were wearing clothes. 

Stiffly, Jughead sniffled and then retorted, “You’re the one who’s being gross, god Jellybean. Nothing happened.” Ignoring him, she gave a brief smile and turned around to walk down to the lobby, still looking down to her sacred phone.

There was a small silence after Jellybean had taken off to go hang out with Toni. Betty looked down to see his hands that she had been benoventely caressing. “Baby,” She said through a cough.

“God Betty, I’m so sorry,” He said under his breath. He gave a despondent chuckle, “I was supposed to be taking care of you today.”

She sighed, looking into his eyes. “You have been baby,” She softly said with a smirk on her face, “You carried me to bed last night.” She moved one of her hands to cup his cheek, her smile only becoming more radiant, “Probably looked really cute. And then I vaguely remember you forcing my stubborn sleeping self to go and change into your comfy clothes. And last night you were being all protective of me and you honestly were right because I’m really sore now…” Betty noticed another tear that started to slowly fall from his eye and she brushed it away, “Why are you crying?”

“I’m trying not to,” He simply responded.

“Why baby?” She asked, bringing her hand down to cup his cheek again. 

His voice cracked as he spoke, “Because I don’t think I my heart can physically beat without you. That sounds so corny, but you’re the damn love of my life Baby. I need you.”

A smile of admiration and earnest covered her face and she quirked a brow. “Stop,” She playfully said ever so hoarsely. “You’re gonna make me cry.” He pulled her in for a hug and he felt her tears wet his shoulder. “You’re already crying,” He chuckled. “Shut up,” She jokingly retorted. 

After a couple seconds Jughead moved back from Betty and sat up in the bed. “Okay…” He said looking down to the precious body that was laying in his bed, “...If you can, go back to sleep for a couple hours after I give you more Tylenol and when you wake up you can eat soup and crackers. You’ll probably wake up in new warm sheets. Sound good?”

She nodded, once again smirking as she fell back asleep quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter felt really good to write and it felt relieving to show the good and bad times that they have. I'm proud of our Betty for keeping calm and comforting him. We'll hear more about why Jughead had had an anxiety attack next chapter. I'm excited for you guys to see the next chapter!


	22. Day of Rest

“Juggy?” Betty drowsily asked, voice hoarse from her cold as she started to stretch her arms out above her head. “Ah,” She quietly whimpered, feeling the sudden rush of aching that her bones felt.

A couple of seconds later, she watched as the door opened. Jughead walked in with not only warm tea, but also eggs and toast. “Thank you baby,” She sleepily said, trying to sit up. Betty cleared her still sore throat.

“Lemme help you,” He said as he placed the plate and glass onto the nightstand and assisted her to sit up.

“Did you sleep well?” He asked, bringing his hand to her forehead, “You still have your fever.” She admired the how caring and serious that look that covered his face was. He had never been like that before Betty.

She had taught him a lot about all the dumb things love makes you do. And trust him, it was a lot. There were a lot of aspects of him that had changed with Betty and only because of true love did he dare to change for anyone. She changed him for the best and he changed her for the best.

“I feel well-rested, but yeah it hurts to move a lot. I just hate fevers because it’s hard so concentrate and do things.”

“Yeah, hopefully you’ll get over this pretty soon. Anyways, Toni dropped off some clothes you can put on once your done eating. It’s a blue long sleeve shirt that Veronica described as ‘From pink and very soft on the inside…’ so you’d love it and then black leggings because apparently ‘black leggings work with everything,’” He mocked Veronica, using a hint of a perky tone.

She giggled which only caused her to cough. “Sounds like she made a great choice. That’s my lazy go to.” Trying to avoid coughing, she clutched her hand to the skin that covered her lungs and took a deep breath. She hated colds, that was for sure.

Jughead sat on the bed, next to her.

“Jug you don’t have to stay with me all today, I really don’t wanna get you sick,” She gestured her hands, shaking away from herself.

“I’m pretty sure kissing is worse than presence and I’m not sick yet, am I?” He chuckled.

“What did you do today?” She asked as she glanced over to the clock, “It’s already three?!”

“Just wrote some shit, same old same old. It’s not the most interesting,” He sighed.

She smirked, “I think everything you do is interesting.”

“Yeah, yeah, just eat the food,” He joked as he grabbed and handed Betty the plate and silverware.

“Okay, okay, I’ll eat.”

After a couple bites of food and some conversation, Betty’s ringer went off. It was the one and only Alice. Betty picked up the phone and rolled her eyes then turned the contact name that was flashing on her phone over to Jughead. His brows furrowed and he shrugged it off as he grabbed her phone.

“Hello Mrs. Cooper, how are you doing?” He asked, expecting her to quickly change conversation and ask for Betty.

“Good, good...Do you happen to know where Betty is?” She asked. He shook his head, this is exactly what he had predicted.

“She’s actually down with a fever,” He lied...Well half lied, she did have a fever, “But I can take a message for whenever she wakes up and then she can try and get back to you.” He offered cold heartedly.

“Well...I suppose that’ll do. I just was wondering if you were aware about Betty’s pain medications anyways so I guess it’s good I caught you on the line.” 

‘What is she saying?’ Betty mouthed, brows furrowing as she saw his soften.

“She’s one hundred percent fine without them Alice, I can assure you.”

Her voice cracked, “Well you know a lot of people can say their fine…”

“Probably how you live your life constantly taunting my girlfriend every single chance you have,” He challenged her, voice low and gruff. He was being serious and Betty would be lying if she didn’t admit she found it enticing.

She paused, “...Tell her I’d like to talk to her when she wakes up.”

“Let’s be honest here...I’m not going to tell her to call you so you can nag and slowly deteriorate her because you’ve been doing that for too many years. I’ll simply say you called. But there is one thing that I want to be as clear as the day to you…”

Too calmly she asked, “What is it?”

“I’m planning on being with Betty for the rest of my damn life and as long as she’s with me...There’s will be no way in hell I’m letting you get away with constantly bitching at her for being  _ perfect  _ because there’s no such thing in your vocabulary.” Hot-headed, he ended the call.

Betty was staring at him wide eyed. “Jug,” She whispered. She was stunned. No one had ever stuck up for her like that.

“I think I messed a lot of things up and by think, I mean know.”

And like that, she started laughing. It was contagious. “What?” He laughed.

“She’s never going to like you because you challenge her,” She hoarsely said. She held his shoulder and in between laughing, said, “I’m so sorry for you. She’s never gonna forget that conversation. Holy shit, you snapped.”

He embraced her, both laughing. “I had to say something, maybe it was bad timing.”

“Maybe,” She said, attempting to stop laughing as she rested her head in the crook of his neck, coughing occasionally.

\--------

Betty was curled up in Jughead’s lap, almost asleep, while watching Netflix. He had his arm wrapped around her body, his hand caressing the soft skin on her arm.

As she reluctantly yawned, she spread her arms around his torso. “Juggy?” Her sleepy voice asked.

“Yes Betts?” His low voice whispered against her warm neck, words tingling her skin.

“What time is it? I don’t have my contacts in,” She glanced over to the clock, narrowing her eyes, vision clearly impaired.

He turned his head towards the clock and read, “Five thirty-six, we still have a while before it’s night…” With his hand, he gently held her chin up towards his face and glanced down to her with a small, yet pure smile gracing his face. “...What do you wanna do Betts?”

Concentration evident from from her eyes staring off somewhere over his shoulder. As her eyes quickly adjusted back to focus on his, a small smile of satisfaction played on her lips. 

“Can we make soup, I’m starving,” She asked, cocking her head to the side. “Babe, you know it’s not even five right? Were you listening to me?” He chuckled. In response, ever so slightly, she puckered her lips and moved her hand to rest on his shoulder. She let a cough out and played the sick card on top of the seductive one.  _ What nerve _ .

“This is unfair,” He pouted. Clearly impressed, he glanced down to her hand to her hand that was perched up on his shoulder, “Are you trying to be seductive?” He smirked.

“What? No!...Of course not, I’m just hungry.”

“Fine,” He chuckled, rolling his eyes. Her smirk became a lopsided smile as she quickly pecked Jughead’s lips.

\--------

“Babe, do you even have broth?” She asked, peering into the different cabinets that she had opened, standing on her tippy toes.

Pretending to be offended, he scoffed, “Duh, it’s on the shelf above so you can’t see it.” He walked over to her and reached for the broth, body brushing hers ever so slightly. He gave her a small hug by wrapping one of his arms around her waist while reaching for the broth. “Here,” Jughead smirked before going back to the stove that was heating the noodles.

“You know I’m gonna have to go back to work tomorrow...Ugh” She sighed, trying to swallow another coughing spell.

“Cheryl’s just a mere annoyance, I’m sure she won’t bother you that much,” He responded as he watched her delicate fingers pick up the wooden spoon, to mix the noodles.

Her eyes glistened as she quickly glanced over to him before focusing her attention on stirring. She chuckled, “You’ve been telling everyone off, I sure hope no one annoys me.”

“They better not,” He quietly said as he watched her emerald eyes smirking at the amount of concentration she put into every little thing.

“Protective looks good on you, I like it. I think it’s cute,” She admitted with one of her lopsided smiles on her adorable face.

He smuggly shrugged, “I try my hardest.”

Once betty was done stirring, she placed the hot spoon onto the spoon rest and she redirected her assertive eyes to his ocean blue eyes. Almost inaudibly speaking to herself, she mouthed, “There’s something I need from the fridge.”

As he unsuccessfully tried to hold in an amused grin, he walked over to the fridge and opened it for a couple seconds. “I don’t think there is.”

Tapping her chin and staring at him still, looking for some remembrance, she softly spoke, “No, there was definitely something I needed from the fridge.”

“Mmmm,” He murmured, “I don’t think so. Noodles, broth, salt. Quite simple, we have it all.”

Quizzically, she sighed, “I guess you’re right.” After a moment a familiar, charmingly playful look covered her face.

“I was looking at you for some sense of clarity to rush into my thoughts, you know,” She began with her voice still sounding raspy.

“Do I give you clarity?” He teased as he slightly shifted positions so he was leaning back onto the fridge.

“Of course,” Betty uttered before ever so slightly tilting her feet upwards to reach his smooth, captivating lips against her soft, dreamy ones. His hands were firmly pressed against her waist as her hands held the lapels of his denim jacket. It was chaste,  _ yet _ protracted. Long enough to express how deeply they care for each other, but not as long as they had hoped because after all it was enough time for Toni and Jellybean to quickly snap open the door before Jughead and Betty could even react.

Slowly retracting her lips from his, with her eyes still closed, she lowered her feet back to the ground and turned to a situation she had hoped to avoid, for at least a while. She was really hoping not to have the whole ‘sorry I shouldn’t be kissing your brother conversation’ for at least a good month from now, but that’s already been shot down from the moment she had met her. She leaned her back onto Jughead’s torso. He then, wrapped his arms around her again, in an almost protective sense.

“Ew gross, all I ever see if you guys practically sucking each other’s faces,” Jellybean remarked.

“You know I’d be rich if I got money every time I’ve walked in on you guys,” Toni chuckled, clearly amused by Jellybean’s retort.

“You know Jellybean, it’s like you actually -” He started before Betty interrupted him.

“- Forsythe,” She in awe, tauntingly remarked. Sending him a powerful glance, accepting defeat, he retreated.

Jughead rolled his eyes and glanced back to Jellybean, whose mouth was left agape from the use of his real name, and scoffed, “Fine you win.” Toni smuggly smiled at her best friend before placing down her keys and walking over to the couch while Jellybean remained still with shock.

“Did you - Just...Call him - Forsythe?” She choppily put together words.

Still looking over to Jellybean, Betty slyly caressed the lapels of his jacket, one more time, before bringing her hands down onto her own waist. She coughed and then spoke, “He needs to act more like he’s twenty-eight, right Forsythe?”

“Yeah, yeah everything I do is wrong and I should be more mature,” He mocked her as he shifted even closer to her, his lips hovering around her ear. In a rough whisper, he said, “I don’t appreciate the name in front of everyone.”

With that damned smartass smirk that she always had still on her face, she softly spoke, “Do you have preferences of where would you like me to call you that name?” He scoffed at how alluringly tenacious her attitude had been towards him and then walked past the three girls, heading to his bedroom. “I’m gonna grab my phone,” He informed the watching eyes before momentarily disappearing into the room, Betty biting her lower lip, attempting to hide her apparent, wide smile.

“Do you guys like ever...Like talk?” Jellybean asked.

“All day, everyday girl.” 

“Trust her when Betty says a lot, I’ve been ditched multiple times for your brother,” Toni giggled.

“Hey, watch it!” Betty exclaimed.

“I seriously don’t get what you see in him Betty,” Jellybean sighed before tending to her phone that had just buzzed.

“You don’t think those jet black curls and prominent features you both have are attractive? If not, you guys both have the brains,” Betty chuckled, shaking her head as she walked over to join them on the couch. Jellybean was half listening and half texting, “I guess he’s okay looking.”

“Got it,” Jughead said as he entered the room, with his phone in his right hand, and went to go and sit next to Betty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this simple chapter. I've been working to pump out a bunch of shorter works. I just am warning you next chapter is going to be a couple months into the future and will probably be doing that now, I'll specify time frame in next one, but also it will be dark. If you cannot read that kind of stuff, don't read the next chapter, but I'm trying to keep it pg 14. It won't be anything like smut, but it'll be dark and I'm just warning you guys.


	23. The Horror of When Disaster Strikes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a very intense chapter, so if it triggers some, click off. This is a very important matter to me that I wanted people online to learn and be aware of. Survival and how hard the recovery will be, but how it's worth it. Thanks <3

“Jug, do V or Archie want anything else? I’m probably going to get to Wegmans in like fifteen minutes and want to have a mental list prepared, of what I’m getting, ready,” Betty asked through her rose gold iPhone as she walked down the street, focusing her attention on her recently painted nails.

Jughead brought his phone down to his chest and called to his friends, “Veronica, Archie do you want Betty to get any other snacks?” Both shook their heads and then continued whatever conversation they were holding over at the couch. He had walked over to the kitchen to answer her call so the Netflix marathon wouldn’t distract him from their conversation.

“That’s it Betts…” He said, staring blankly at his nails that he was delicately tapping on the table, phone that he had just put back next to his ear.

“Jug, what…” She questioned, already knowing he was pondering about something he wanted to tell her.

“Just...Call me when you get there, I hate the idea of you being alone. I can drive over, you didn’t have to walk alone. Veronica and Archie are old enough to watch themselves at my house,” He chuckled. He suddenly wasn’t very fond of the idea of Betty being alone. He wasn’t sure why.

“Baby…” She sweetly spoke, “I love you and will call you. I’m gonna go, okay?”

“Okay...I love you. Bye,” He caressingly said before ending the call and gripping his hands around his phone tighter. Something was off. 

Well...Kind of. Nothing had gone wrong today. His work was fine. Betty’s work was fine. Jellybean didn’t have any problems at school. It was a Friday night and their friends were over. So what was it? Something was giving him a strange tightening feeling in his chest and he didn’t know who or what was the cause.

“Jughead?” Jellybean asked, shaking his shoulder gently.

“What?” He quickly snapped out of it. “What is it Jellybean?”

“Can I go to Madelaine’s? A couple people are sleeping over and it is Friday night…” She pleaded her case.

With hesitation, Jughead finally said, “...Am I driving you or are you walking?”

“Alicia’s also going and her mom offered a drive, she can be here in five minutes.”

“Yeah, sure. Just text me when you get there okay?” He cautiously urged her.

“Uh okay? Sure, I’ll text you and also tell you what time to pick me up tomorrow morning,” Jellybean said before walking back to her room to pack her bags for overnight.

“Jughead, come on! You’re missing the good parts,” Archie shouted from the living room. Still not being able to draw his attention from this ominous feeling that was swallowing him, he walked back over to where his friends were sitting.

Absentmindedly he stared at the TV, not actually hearing any words, but his own from his thoughts. Something was wrong and he couldn’t figure it out. Out of old anxious habit, he looked at how small the crimson cresent scars on his palms were. He traced them with his short nails, put his hand on the couch rest, and started to tap his fingers following a certain pattern.

He already felt anxiety start to build and establish itself deep within him. His heart was going at a slightly faster pace that usual, but he was now feeling frustrated that he couldn’t recall what was making him feel this way.

\--------

Betty had not noticed that it was dusk outside until she looked up from her lit up phone. She definitely was not aware that it was that late when she agreed and offered to go grab some snacks from Wegmans. She wasn’t one of those people who loved to take walks especially because she always wears heels. Walking wasn’t really one of her things.

She sighed to herself. Sometimes she still had those childish, irrational fears of the dark and being alone. Maybe they weren’t childish, they were human. Ignoring the uneasy feeling in her chest, she continued walking straight and glanced over to the right. 42nd. She only had to walk to 43rd. Only one more block.

Behind her, as any person usually would, she could hear loud voices. She rolled her eyes in annoyance of how noisy they were being. She quickly turned her head to focus her eyes on the middle-aged man. Although it was only a glimpse, she couldn’t help, but feel fear rise up her body. He was obviously a couple inches over six feet tall and it looked as if he weighed around two hundred and ten pounds. A little off of double her weight, he was definitely stronger than her. Ignoring their lude comments that she could only assume were about her, she walked forward. Something was wrong. 

They were almost too close to her. She could hear the footsteps trailing behind her. Wait...Now that she really was listening to her surroundings, the other man had left. It was just her and this unknown person who could potentially be following her. She prayed he wasn’t following her. This wasn’t something she was really up to deal with right now, or really ever. She just wanted to snuggled back up with her boyfriend and hang out with her friends.

“Hey doll, nice ass,” The man called, laughter apparent. She nervously swallowed and did not stop walking. She didn’t even turn around, there was no benefit of the doubt in this situation.

“Scuse me, I’m talking to you,” He hiccuped. Fuck, he was clearly drunk. He was clearly fucking drunk. Her vision started to become impaired, she was already numbing herself. Still trying to think of something to do, she slipped her phone out of her front pocket and placed her thumb on the home button. Thankfully, she didn’t have to type in her password because everything was really starting to become blurry. From her cloudy vision, she was able to easily click on his name under text messages because he was the last person she had texted. 

I love you, she was able to read. And before she knew it, a tear streamed down her fragile and delicate face. The message was from earlier. There was no reason he had told her. He just wanted her to be aware that he loves her.

She was able to navigate to the option where she could share her location. As soon as she had clicked share, she felt a big arm ruthlessly pull at her hand, causing her phone to fall to the ground and most likely shatter on the concrete ground. Shortly after, she heard the crack of her phone when it met, face to face, with the concrete ground. Fuck, she was next to a dark alley. How the fuck was her life like this? How the fuck was she in New York City and no one was in this damn alley!? How the fuck? 

\--------

“Jughead!” Archie loudly spoke.

“The fuck do you want Archie?” He snapped back, causing Veronica to quickly furrowed her brows in confusion of the situation.

“Jughead...What’s wrong?” He asked. 

All of a sudden, Jughead’s ringer went off and everyone focused on his phone that was straight in the middle of them, on the coffee table.

Instantly, not even waiting for his phone to turn right back off, his hand grabbed the phone and he opened it up. It was a message from Betty. Wait...It wasn’t a message. It was a location. Her location.

“The hell, did she just share her location with you Jughead?” Veronica asked, worry creeping its way into her.

“Betty,” Were the only words that were able to escape his lips. It was a whisper. Almost too quiet to be heard if everyone wasn’t focused on him.

“Wh - Why did she send you her location Jughead?” She interrogated, raising her voice.

Quickly standing up, he looked at the door. What would get him there faster? Running or New York City driving?

\--------

“Bitch, listen to me,” The man demanded with stench of alcohol that reeked from his filthy mouth. She was breathing heavily, it appeared he also was from all of the drinking he had done earlier. What a misogynistic, heartless ass. And like that, out of instinct, she plunged her nails into the crimson crescents that were so faintly painted on her hands. She flinched at the unexpected pain she felt from it. It didn’t use to feel like this. It use to feel good. She was praying it would feel good. Give her some relief from the hell she was feeling. Some way out.

\--------

“Ow,” He flinched his hand. “The fuck?” He quietly whispered as he watched a small amount of blood drip from the crimson crescents on his palms. He hadn’t been digging his nails into his skin anymore. He actually hadn’t thought about doing that for a while now.

“Jughead, what the hell?” Veronica screamed, fear and anger with the situation clear in her voice.

“Betty,” He cried. Eyes were all turned to him, watching his movements. 

“What is it Jughead?” Archie finally asked. And just like that, he ran out of the apartment, his friends following him the second after he bursted out of his apartment doors not caring if someone were to even rob his house. He had one objective. Find Betty.  
\--------

“Got plans tonight?” He asked as he grabbed her other wrist. She whimpered in pain as he twisted her arms in an unnatural directions, not even realizing he was causing her pain. Tears were dripping down her horrified face, praying somehow Jughead would know to come to her. Her hands burned as droplets of blood fell from her palms, her grip on them was only getting tighter.

 

She tried like hell to shake his robust hands off of her. “Feisty one aren’t ya?” He slurred every word that came out of his mouth. “Ya got a boyfriend?” He asked, trying to force her body further back in the alley, away from people’s view.

“Please,” She begged, voice shaking, “Stop.” Usually this would be the point where they stop. If they weren’t a sadistic, cruel people, they would stop. They would. But Betty knew better than that. He wasn’t going to be like that. And still, those are the only words that managed to pry themselves out of her mouth. 

Cleverly thinking, she looked down to her feet. She was wearing heels. She then lifted her foot up and used all the force she was capable of creating to stomp her heel down onto his foot. He bent over in pain, releasing his grip on her, but she damn well knew this fight wasn’t over. Out of all sociopathic responses, she wasn’t expecting laugher. He started to laugh, body shaking. As he did so, he chuckled, “So ya got a boyfriend, I take it? He won’t mind sweetheart. Cooperate and this’ll be easy.”

She scrunched up her face, thinking about the idea of him...His body on hers...She felt like she wasn’t there anymore. She already felt like this had deteriorated her. Maybe she wouldn’t feel it because everything was numb.

“Okay,” His low voice growled as he stood up to his tall height once again, making her feel small. Making her feel insignificant. Making her feel non-existent. “Take off your skirt doll,” He demanded, grabbing her waist mercilessly and digging his fingers onto her skin. Grabbing her in ways she had only prayed would never happen. As he forced his coarse body against hers, he was able to lean her up against one of the alleyway walls.

Clumsily, he had began to unbutton her yellow, high waisted button up skirt. She continued to push her fists against his weight, only successfully causing his drunk body to stumble a little bit. After a couple of seconds, his arms were back on her fists, holding her down. Her blood transferring onto his dirty white shirt and strong hands.

Why didn’t she scream? She felt paralyzed with pure fear, although subconsciously she was trembling. It was like she wasn’t in control of her own body. Like she was watching herself in third person perspective in a video game. All she could do was watch the plays, not even aware of what she would do next. Like a video game glitch...She was frozen.

Betty started to crumble. She started to slowly lose her balance, her body scraping against the rough brick wall as her knees buckled. Reluctantly she gave into the forceful yank on her arms and stood up again, his body against hers once again. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t.

Luckily because of his mental state and of the amount of alcohol that he had so graciously consumed, he had only taken out the first three buttons, which only revealed her slim waist.

Getting sexually frustrated, he thrusted his obscene body against hers, closing any distance between them. She moved her head to the side, looking for a way out. Any way. “Come on doll, be a good girl for me,” He shouted at her, head hovering near hers. That was the last thing she saw. His brown eyes. His scrunched up nose. His wide jaw. His rough lips that was wiggling in between his disgusting, rotting teeth. His pupils were extremely dilated, black with desperate desire and lust. It was terrifying, he looked possessed. Possessed by something Betty didn’t understand. She flinched at the disgusting feeling of his pants getting tighter, but his body only leaned against her harder.

“...Stop…” She weakly susserated, words finally escaping her lips, tears shedding from her eyes every time she blinked.

“Be a good girl for me,” He said as he started to undo his own brown belt, metal clicking against the leather. 

“Stop!” She mewled, “Please...Let me go.” Please God, please God. Help me, she prayed to herself.

She gasped at the feeling of that man grabbing her upper thigh. His hand was rising. Rising up in between her legs, in her shirt. He dipped his hand around her underwear and questioned, “Feeling good babe?” Her sobs only grew louder. He took pleasure in her pain. “Stop,” She mewled meakily. She squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t watch this. She tried so hard to forget about her surroundings, but the only vision coming to her closed eyes were his face. Telling her. Telling her to cooperate. Telling her to be good. Telling her to be a good girl.

His hand continued to vigorously explore her body as she emptily begged him to stop. Her face cringed harder as she felt him on her. His fucking disgusting hands on her. Then, he finally removed his hands from under her skirt. He was still trying to pull his belt off of his pants. As he discarded his belt to the ground, he dropped his wallet. He groaned as he went down onto to the floor to try and grab it, only to fall over because he was so deeply intoxicated. 

Thank you God, Thank you, She prayed. Swallowing down all her every single ounce of exhaustion, her balled up hands slapped his face. “The fuck bitch, weren’t we having a good time?” He exhorted.

“I told you to GET OFF OF ME,” She found the energy in herself to scream as she dug her heel into his stomach causing him to groan and stumble over again. Anger filled her body. She was enraged he would dare touch her like that. Enraged that he would fucking dare to touch her like that.

Slowly he started to stand up again. Dread started to rush into her head. He fervently grabbed her shirt, the fabric ripping at his touch. A loud chortle started to rise from his stomach. Brows furrowed, she refused to close her eyes and give up. She wasn’t going to lose this. Not after the fight she’s put up.

“You’re pretty fucking stupid if you think I won’t be able to fuck you,” He growled. His hand pushed her shoulder, causing her body to sway at his touch, making her feel pain. He had this malicious smile covering his face. She’s never be able to forget that smile. His hand slapped against her thigh and she slapped it right back off. He wasn’t gonna fucking do that again.

“Leave me alone,” She hoarsely said, voice weak from previously screaming so loud, as she slapped his face again. His nose started to bleed and she gasped while looking at the pain she had caused him, then quickly dismissed her sympathy because of everything he had done to her. It felt so good for her hand to meet his face for the second time.

For the final time, he grabbed her shoulder. He held it tightly, making her wince and whimper in pain. He just stared at her with that sadistic smile and gripped harder. “Fuck you, whore!” He screamed as he walked off, letting go of his manipulative grip, leaving her alone in the alleyway.

She was finally free. A relieved sigh escaped her lips before she began to hyperventilate and cry. Her legs felt like they couldn’t work, they gave out, and she fell to the floor before her. It was finally over. Not only had she survived, but she fought extremely hard. Anxiety was the only companion she was accompanied with.

She had been sobbing for roughly three minutes until she heard something. Something that could make her day more of a living hell or like a glimpse of heaven. She was praying it was heaven. 

She heard footsteps. Footsteps that were approaching, but still from afar. Not being able to bring the strength to even look and see if the man had returned, her breathing just became more sporadic through her cries. And from a distance, not a very far distance, but a close distance...She heard shouting. Faint shouting. The sounds of this person’s shouting only grew as he came closer. Then she could make it out. She heard the sweet sound of the only man she ever wanted to see again call her own name. “Betty,” She heard.

She simply couldn’t respond. She couldn’t find it in her, but the screams only got louder. Thank God, he was getting closer. “Betty!” She heard again. “Betty!”

“BETTY” It was finally close. It was finally close enough to feel the warm sensation she so often had when she heard his tender voice. But this time, it wasn’t tender. It was rough, from many calls. It was filled with dread. Dread from the possibility he could have lost her. Somehow, in the middle of all of this, it still made her heart skip a beat.

Using the last possible exertion of strength that she had built up, she turned her head. She turned her head towards him, from the sound of his voice calling her that she had so greatly yearned for, with a look that he’ll never be able to forget. No matter how hard he would try, it was engraved in his brain. And God knows how much he wished he could, but there was no way. It would haunt him forever because he could see everything at once. He could read her like a book and recite all the pages regardless if he even tried to. 

And at that moment, he read everything. The awful dismay that filtered itself into the position of her mouth and eyes. The nauseating disgust that her hands so neatly curled up conveyed. The sorrow that furrowed her brows. The sincere hopelessness that at one point had filled every bone in her body. And most importantly, the unpleasant shock the cruel man brought her that made her lip quiver.

As he ran, he felt it getting harder to breathe. His eyes and face were beyond filled with concern. He could finally see how disheveled her appearance was. 

He saw the tears that were so ferociously running down her face. The red handprint from an unfamiliar person burning her shoulder. The rip that revealed her stomach. Then god...her half unbuttoned skirt that was extremely risen up. And her wrists and forearms...bruised and deprived of oxygen. There was no doubt she put up a fight. 

His blood ran cold. He suddenly felt light headed and nauseous. He felt his throat get dry. Yet, he ran forward to her.

When he reached her body, his body froze like hers once had, right there. Paralyzed with horror. Her bruises and ruffled up outfit was in fact not a figment of his imagination, it was all real. Unfortunately it was real. It was all very fucking real. He forced himself to kneel in front of her.

Before he had another second to think, he was surprised by the sudden embrace Betty gave him. Wearily, she gave him the strongest hug she could. She wrapped her arms around his torso, gripping him as tightly as her body would let her. Like she was hanging on for dear life because dear God she needed him more than she ever had before.

So what was Jughead’s response in the midst of all this chaos? He held her. Held her like he always did. Using such strong of an emotion one could only describe as love. He held her defeated self.

At the front of the alleyway, there were Veronica and Archie. They had successfully followed Jughead, but weren’t running on the utter fear that he was, so they had just arrived to the horrid scene that no one imagined would turn out to be their lives. Veronica gasped and immediately lifted her hand to cover her mouth as a single tear fell down her face, leaving her mascara dripping. And for once, she didn’t care. Without hesitation, he held Veronica back. To respect Betty’s personal space after what he had correctly assumed had happened.

“O - Oh my god. Archie,” She stammered through a quiet sob, attempting to choke down her cries. She brought her eyes to her boyfriend who was looking down at her, watching her every move. “Do - Do you think...Do you think…” She couldn’t find the strength in her body to utter the words. Really, utter the word. The singular word that could destroy a person in a matter of seconds. She scrunched her eyes closed, imagining her best friend...Veronica’s head rested against Archie’s chest as he just watched. Watched how they were going to survive. 

“Ronnie I know you want to help, but...This is...Gonna require time,” He said, voice hushed against Veronica’s head. Archie’s eyes remained glued to the situation. Like watching a slow motion car crash, it’s impossible for some to look away.

“He...he kept telling me to be...a good girl and to cooperate,” Her shaky voice stammered through her heavy breathing and cries. Betty’s head was resting in the crook of his neck, she couldn’t bare face him when she said that. Not about him with her. Then, she slowly moved her head to look at the only face she ever wanted to see again. Her clouded eyes looked into his, “Jug,” Her voice cracked, “I tried...so hard.” Tears streaming down her face, she croaked, “I tried.”

He hated seeing her whole body trembling like that. Filled with anxiety, giving her a high. He absolutely fucking hated holding her trembling body. It was the worst feeling in the world, holding her like some cracking porcelain doll that was broken. Holding her delicate body wondering how someone was so soulless to be such a monster.

He felt his body start to burn, feeling her pain. He didn’t care. He felt like it was insignificant compared to what she was feeling. He realized his lip was quivering too. Tears were also running down his cheeks. Pain was covering his body. “I know you did,” He faintly whispered, almost inaudibly. “I know you did,” He repeated, just as quiet as the first time, barely being able to utter those words. Betty leaned her forehead against Jughead’s, heads moving slightly from crying.

Her eyes flickered down to Jughead’s lips. With hesitance evident, she finally leaned her face lower so her lips could catch his. It was one of those sloppy, passionate kisses that can only start to express their love for each other. It was chaste, but they were fine with that. She was still whimpering. But, it was something. She lean her forehead back onto his which parted the kiss after a couple seconds. It was still scary. Their embrace was still going on, they weren’t gonna let go.

“Betty,” He ghostly muttered, “Do you...remember what he looks like?” Her cries only became more hysterical as she nodded, almost feeling shame on how far that man had went. “It’s going to get better Betty. I promise,” He shakily assured her. He gave her a small kiss on her temple and she fell right back into the crook of his neck. “We have to go tell the police. I promise it’ll get better.” She gave a small nodd. “I love you...so much Betty. I love you so much.” It was true.

“I love you,” She said through a breath. It was gonna be okay. In no way, shape, or form was it going to be easy...But it was going to be okay. And that’s all they wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's gonna be a journey with these two, but hey they're gonna manage. For the best and the worst. I'll post the next chapter soon.


	24. Reliving the Horror

“Betty...you go by that, correct?” The female officer kindly asked.

“Yes,” She quietly answered.

“This isn’t going to be easy talking about the situation Betty, but you should be very proud of yourself for doing this...before we get started, I want to formally introduce myself. My name is Officer Dougherty and my first name is Ava,” Ava glanced up to see Betty’s left arm securely wrapped around what she supposed was her boyfriend, sitting in a chair directly next to her. He was caressing her back.

After a brief couple of silent seconds, Ava continued on, “It’s going to feel like you’re reliving this, but I don’t want you to feel trapped. This is a safe place. So...let’s start, I’m going to need background information. What happened first? You were walking, right?” She watched a single tear drip down Betty’s face and she nodded. “It’s okay take your time.”

Voice barely being above a whisper, Betty spoke, “I...was trying to walk to Wegmans, I was only a block away…”

“...But you didn’t make it,” She inferred, “Someone approached you?”

 

“Uhm I heard two people behind me talking really loudly. I thought they were talking about me...Saying things,” Her lip started to quiver. Jughead didn’t stop caressing her back, she needed all the love and support she could get.

“Things...What kind of things? Offensive remarks?” Ava said in attempt to pry more information out of her.

“I was trying not to listen, but it was stuff about my ass. They were all lude comments so I tried to ignore them.”

“Okay, that’s good. Would you be able to describe the two men for me?”

“I can only assume it was his friend, but when I had looked back, my eyes only focused on…” Her voice cracked, “...The man.” She didn’t want to continue. It was all too fresh, but she had no choice, she was already so far.

“Okay....” She probed for more information.

“I noticed how much taller and bigger he was than me,” She said, feeling small again.

“Would you be able to recall his estimated weight, age, or height?”

“He seemed to be two hundred-ten pounds. He looked fifty-five. Maybe 6’4” was his height. Jug -” She quickly looked at her boyfriend to gesture. “ -My name’s Forsythe, that’s my nickname.” Betty nodded.  She just wanted this to be over with.

“And you’re her boyfriend?” Officer Dougherty asked, gesturing her hand towards him again. “Yes, we’ve been together for a couple months.” With the smallest smile gracing her face from his  _ yes _ , she continued talking.

“Jug’s 6’1” or 6’2,” but this man had an overpowering kinda dangerous look to him.” Betty’s face turned cold and sorrowful. “It was different...It’s like his height already gave me a bad sign.”

“Is that because you thought he was stronger than you?”

“I guess...He made me anxious.”

“Now...what happened to the other man, did he leave?”

“I never saw him again. I don’t even...think my brain established what he looked like,” She recalled, shaking her head.

“So you turned back and kept on walking. What next?”

Betty susserated, “I realized I only heard one pair of footsteps. The other man just left.”

“How did the man interact with you initially? What did he say?”

“Every single thing he said is engraved in my brain,” She ghostly spoke. Betty squeezed Jughead’s hands who gave her an equally strong squeeze back, reassuring her.

“Can you tell me what he first said...directly to you?”

“He was still a little far away from me. He said, _Hey cutie, nice ass_ , but I could tell he was only talking to me. Sexually objectifying me. Somehow no one else was on the same street as me, it was empty except for us.”

“You turned around to him then?”

“No...I grabbed my phone...everything was so blurry. I found Jug’s contact and really quickly shared my location with him.”

“That was a very good choice, Forsythe found you before the man had a chance to come back?” 

She sniffled and tried to swallow down her cries. “Yes,” She softly said, almost like she was mouthing her words.

“And your friends, waiting outside. Did they come with Forsythe?”

Betty’s cloudy eyes looked up to him, waiting for him to answer, giving her a chance to catch her breath.

Catching on, he started to speak. “I immediately left once I got the notification from her. They, being close to Betty, followed me. We all ran, but they waited away from us. We haven’t talked to them yet.”

“And that’s good, you need time. What happened after you sent him your location?”

“The man...He…”

“...Can you describe him for me?” She premised of Betty.

She squeezed her eyes shut, her brain only illustrating his face in her mind. Haunting her. “...Can - can we do that later?” Opening her eyes again, she watched Ava nodd.

“He - wait, I - I don’t remember if I said, but he was drunk. I could smell it and he was slurring his breath. Does that mean...it’s not his...fault?” She croaked.

Ava calmly said, “No and in no way is this your fault. Intoxicated or not, he still has morals. In no mind set should that have happened.”

“He grabbed by wrist, really hard. It was the one I was holding my phone with. It made me drop my phone, out of shock I didn’t know he was that close to me.”

“And at this point, you were next to an alley, you said?” Ava asked, looking for clarification.

She shuttered thinking about that dark alley, “Yes. Only at the entrance when my phone shattered, I heard it.”

“It’s going to get harder Betty, but I need you to keep going,” Ava said with a sympathetic look on her face.

“He pushed me further into the alley. He kept telling me  _ to be a good girl.  _ That’s what he kept saying. Over and over again. And  _ to cooperate  _ with him. He shoved my body against a wall and thrusted his body on mine over and over. I could feel his...I don’t know. I just felt his pants getting tighter as he leaned on me. I felt like I couldn’t breath. His weight and my anxiety were a lot.”  She looked to Jughead who swallowed down that information, feeling awful she had to go through that with another man. He shook his head upward and squeezed her hand, telling her to go on, tell her story.

“Sexual harassment cases can occur in multiple forms, I need you to tell me what he did to you.”

“I pushed my heel onto his foot and he stopped touching me...for a second. Then he told me  _ to be a good girl  _ again. He kept telling me that as he undid my skirt,” She cried. She couldn’t hold it back anymore. “He only got the first few buttons, he was too drunk. So defeatedly, he started to take off his belt. Then he...he,” Her voice croaked. It was like she was reliving this. She could feel his hands on her as she spoke. PTSD was one son of a bitch.

“He stuck his hands up my skirt,” Her body tensed up and she was speaking through her sob. “He was laughing, it was malicious. Cold-hearted. Evil. As he stuck his hands...” She closed her eyes and then quickly opened them. All she could see was the moment she was talking about. Jughead moved his other arm, that he had been resting on the chair, to her other shoulder that was not hurt. He gave her reassurance. She sighed, “....in me...He asked me if it  _ felt good.  _ If I liked it.” Her face showed the disgust she had felt the whole time. Ava furrowed her eyebrows. Yes her job was to work with these cases, but that never meant it got any easier hearing all these girls’ stories.

“At any point or time did you specifically tell him to stop?”

“Yes...When he grabbed me. When he dragged me. When he forced his body on mine. When he undressed me. When he touched me. He was just so much stronger than me, I couldn’t stop him. I’m sorry,” She mewled. She leaned her head onto Jughead’s shoulder.

“Betty, I need you to understand that this is not your fault. You clearly didn’t give him consent and you tried to stop him. These situations can be very hard, but you’re already doing so…” She wasn’t going to say good. Not like he did. “...Well.”

“He - kept - saying that I was -  _ doing good _ ,” She stammered through her heavy breathing. She kept hearing those words hovering around her head. She kept hearing  _ his voice  _ in her head, only she could feel his heavy breath scratching her neck. Her breathing became even more shaky and uneven.

“His eyes were black.”

“Dilated or the color?”

“Dilated, filled with lust. Like I said, I’m not really good with that kind of stuff, but it was lust. Filled with desire...for me.” This was the first time Jughead cringed. He couldn’t imagine that. It was repulsive. “As he forced his body against mine with his hands up my skirt, I had to feel his filthy, alcoholic breath breathing...Against me.” She scratched her neck, wanting to forget how it felt. “I felt paralyzed. He said if I had a boyfriend, that he  _ wouldn’t mind _ ,” She cringed and leaned more onto her boyfriend’s side. “Can I...have a minute.”

“Of course.”

After she collected herself and calmed down her hushed cries, she started again. “I tried to close my eyes a lot, but I watched his face while he harassed me. I think I can recollect every detail on his face.”

“That’s actually going to help us out a lot. How did he leave and what did he look like?”

“Finally, somehow...I pushed him off and slapped him really hard. I stared him straight in the face and I slapped him. He grabbed my shoulder harshly and stared at me, taunting me. Then he said  _ fuck you whore _ and ran off.” He looked at me with his dark brown eyes. His chapped lips. His black curly hair, it was thick and really curly. Not like Jug’s, like actual tight curls. He had a wide set jaw,” She looked up to see Ava scribbling around her notebook, trying to note every detail she had recalled. “Normal sized forehead. Just thick, he had some weight to him. Caucasian, he was very pale. His brows were really thick. That’s everything.”

“I know that was very hard for you, it must have been traumatizing for you. I see your residual marks. Can you tell me where the blood on your and Forsythe’s shirt is from?”

“I...almost six months ago I gave it up...but,” Betty slowly released her fingers from the ball they were in, revealing her scars followed by the new blood that was drawn tonight. “I used to dig my hands into my palm and the scars were as healed as they could have been, but I tried to relieve my pain from him, but it was stupid...it didn’t work.”

“It’s common for the victim to try and cope with all they’re dealing with, but to be clear...You had given this up around five months ago correct?” She nodded in response. “When you slapped his face, did he bleed at all?”

“His nose...a little bit.”

“Your one shoulder,” Ava pointed to the evident large bruise, “This is from when he...taunted you?”

“Yes,” She weakly responded. “My wrists and arms are from him.”

“I take it the red handprint on your thigh, is from when he started to...get under your waist.” She inferred. She was good at that, after all it was her job.

She glanced down to her thigh.  _ God, it was like a vivid memory.  _ Every time she looked at one of her bruises, her mind could invision his hands right there on her.

“Thank you so much for being so…”  _ God dammit, he said cooperative.  _ “Open with us. This was the right thing to do and we promise that we’re going to help you. We’re going to take you to a more private setting for medical testing. I take it Forsythe will wait outside with your friends as we take the next procedures?”

Betty’s breathing became more sporadic.

“I - I didn’t mean to,”  _ Shit!  _ She was trying to reach out her arm towards Betty. Strict protocol, no touching. She wanted to assure her. She swiftly brought her hand back to her notepad. “Upset you. If you’d like, he can come along, but it’s going to be invasive.”

Betty, lip still quivering as tears shed down her face, looked to Jughead. “Will you come with me?” She mouthed the words to him.

“Of course Betts, if you want me to,” He stood up, following the officer, but he reached his hand for Betty’s. She nodded and grabbed his hand to stand up, she was loosing strength. Immediately, she leaned onto him and held him tightly. “I love you,” He whispered against her head as they walked down the hallway.


	25. The Beginning of Overcoming Past

“Okay you’re all good to go. We have some of our officers searching for him now and all the evidence we need so far has been given to us, thanks to you, Betty,” The doctor said, patting on the bed that Betty was lying on. Jughead had been holding her hand throughout everything, but did look away to give her the maximum amount of privacy that she could receive. 

Her big emerald eyes looked to his and he gave her a weak smile and he continued to caress her hand with his thumb. “You did really good Betty,” The doctor gave a reassuring smile, not aware of her triggers. Good, was definitely one of them. She bit on her lip, trying to choke down another crying spell. Speaking would definitely cause her to cry, so she just nodded. 

After that, everything was a blur for Betty. She could recall leaving the room, Veronica and Archie silently following along, and she remembered Jughead telling her something but...she didn’t remember a lot.

What didn’t she remember? Essentially, her surroundings. Before leaving, the doctor informed Jughead of the depression that would most likely occur. The anxiety. A lot more than she was already dealing with which was already pretty substantial. PTSD. She informed him that a lot of daily occurrences could trigger her memory and that it would never go away. Rather slowly trickle to the back of her mind, ready to bounce back at any given time or moment. 

She didn’t remember how when she had walked out of the room with Jughead right behind her that Veronica tried to walk up towards her and Archie held her back, trying not to add any potential stress. She didn’t remember the muffled cry that Veronica was biting down the second that she saw Betty was out of that testing room. She didn’t remember how softly Jughead spoke reassuring things against her head the whole ride home about how much he loved her. She only remembered what her brain was able to pick up on which was a lot of silent reflection. 

And her she was...all of a sudden, in a bathroom. Alone. She quickly flashed her eyes around the bathroom, noticing the detail. A very faint shade of pink wallpaper was pressed up against all the walls. The sink, cabinet, and floor were all white marble. It smelled like...Strawberries. Behind the agape shower curtain, there was suave and dove shampoo and a sugar-plum shower gel. Wait...this is her bathroom. Her breathing slowed, she knew she was safe. Everything was so quiet. She could hear her own heart thudding, pounding in her ears.

She went to reach for toilet paper and as she did so, she gasped. She took a second to look at her shaky hand. The bruises were getting more blue. They were looking worse. As she did so, she looked down to her waist, eyes picking out more bruising. She felt numb for so long, but for the first time, she started to feel what she could see. Pain just crying and begging to be felt. 

With her breathing becoming more uneven, she furrowed her brows. Was...was the light flickering or was that a figment of her imagination? It was getting darker. Everything was getting darker. Her vision was becoming obscured. And everytime she blinked, his face was there. Watching her. Laughing at her. Laughing in spite of her. That devious smile sewed on his mouth as he leaned closer to her. She started to feel his breath burning her neck. Everything started to hurt. Well...she finally realized everything hurt. She felt her chest tightening, wanting to close. Every bruise was tingling on her body, like pins and needles. She was most definitely hyperventilating and shaking. God, why the fuck was she alone?

“Jug,” She said breathlessly. “Jug,” She susserated with more strength. “Jug,” Her voice finally rising. After a couple of seconds, the door flung open. 

Filled with emotions, Betty started to cry, but spread her welcoming arms out to Jughead. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her. She just cried onto Jughead’s shoulder for three minutes, breathing in his soothing scent. He didn’t stare at her any differently or oggle her just because. He wasn’t fazed by any of that, he respected her. “God, I’m sorry. I - I should be able to pee by myself,” She quietly said, feeling stupid. 

“I shouldn’t have left you alone, I’m here for you. Betty this is all new, but if anything you shouldn’t feel stupid,” He calmly comforted her. Jughead slowly moved his arms from hers and stood up. He looked in the mirror at his disposition, not focusing his eyes on her. As he earlier said; She deserves privacy. This was the first time he really saw himself, he saw the fear that had once given him enough adrenaline to run two miles in ten minutes. His eyes were bloodshot. His eyes were opened wide. His eyes were scarred from tonight. It was a very long night. After spending nearly three hours at the police department office watching Betty have to go through all that interrogation, it was heartbreaking. He didn’t like it, but who would? 

“Then why do I feel like an idiot?” Betty mewled, face falling onto her two fragile hands. She winced at the pain that came from her wrists as she put force on her hands. “I feel like such a mess,” She croaked, gradually bringing her hands back down to flush the toilet. 

“You’re in the bathroom with me because I can’t be alone. It’s not like my parents or siblings walking in, you’re my boyfriend...looking the other way because you’re actually a great person...I feel like you’re wasting your time,” She said, self-demeaningly. Instinct. He knew it. They both did this. Tried to isolate themselves. 

Feeling dejected was one of the worst feelings someone could experience. “Don’t push yourself away from me Betty, I know what you’re doing. I’ve done this too much in my life to watch someone do the same. I’m not wasting my time falling in love with you,” He turned around to her. Betty had already stood up and was walking over to the sink, next to him.

“Why?” She weakly mouthed. “I feel like...I’m lamented,” She puled.

“Because I want your face to be the first and last thing I see everyday Betty,” Jughead finally spoke, eyes glistening. She quickly wiped a tear that started to fall down her face. “For me...can you try? You’re everything to me Betty,” He begged, voice low and vulnerable.

“I can’t even give you what you want,” Her voice cracked as she said that sentence, self esteem decelerating.

“What?” He asked, mouth barely being able to utter his words.

“Say we’re gonna be married one day and we wanna have kids, but I’m not ready. Maybe I’ll never be ready. I know you’re not asexual, Jug, I know you’re not and...I - I don’t know if I can fulfil that need,” She accused, pointing to him.

He gave a soft chuckle in response to her concerns. Thank God. She quirked her brow in confusion. “Betty, I love you...for you, not just pleasure,” He glanced down to her hands. “Can I please hold your hands Betty Cooper?” He asked, a small smile gracing his face. Still perplexed, she still answered yes. He intertwined their fingers, their hands fit so perfectly together. “I love you for so much more than that - Can I hold your face?” She nodded, with a small smile now gracing her face. He was so sweet to make sure she felt comfortable with everything that he did with her. He somehow had managed to make her smile at the end of the night from hell. He was actually kind and caring enough to make sure she was ready and that chose how far we went with her. How fucking genuinely nice.He cupped the side of her face and moved his thumb to wipe off a stray tear. “You know that, right?”

“Yes,” She reluctantly gave in.

“Hey,” He mumbled, “I know you know that...Can I hug you?” She spread her arms around him, taking in the silhouette of his body, loving everything about him. “I love you so much Betty,” He said, trying to stop a cry that he had been holding back “I love you so much,” He repeated himself.

\--------

Instead of falling asleep on the couch like Jughead had, the only thing Betty could focus on was the ticking clock. Tick - Tock - Tick - Tock. Counting off each second she was watching the black slim of plastic go in a three-sixty motion, judging her. At least, she was judging herself for watching the clock for nearly two hours. It was 1:36 am. Late. But, she couldn’t fall asleep. She didn’t want to see his face for more than a fraction of a second that she already was forced to see every time she blinked. It was all too new. All too fresh in her mind. She wondered how long it would be like that.

She glanced over to her sleeping boyfriend, he looked so peaceful for once. It seemed like he needed the sleep. It was a rough day for both of them. He was on the opposite side of the couch, propped sitting up against the edge. She had told him she wasn’t ready to sleep right next to anyone. And for a while, she thought she wasn’t. She still really didn't know if she was. She just knew she was yearning his warm body near hers, the warmth always bringing her to sleep. Maybe she wasn’t ready, but she sure as hell wanted him. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep unless she was next to him. In a sense, she was next to him, but sitting next to him wasn’t as effective.

Maybe...the tylenol wasn’t working. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t fall asleep. After all, she was feeling the pain slowly settling within her muscles, waiting to cmake her flinch at every movement she made. 

Maybe, but he was more than a reliever of pain. He was everything to her. Her everything. Yeah, she just wanted him.

Slowly, she started to stretch her arm out to be able to reach Jughead’s arm that was so tenderly tucked around his torso. Still not used to the bruises, her eyes widened as she saw her blue and purple wrists in front of her own body. Swallowing her anxiety down, she continued to reach to him. 

“Jug,” She softly said, placing her hand on his arm and gently caressing it. “Baby, it’s me.” 

“What?” His groggy self asked, being awakened by her sweet voice, but not opening his eyes.

“I can’t fall asleep,” She murmured. To this, he blinked his eyes a couple times, going from darkness to her beautiful silhouette. His eyes softened as his vision cleared. She needed him to fall asleep. In a moment of chaos, it was determined she needed him. For clarity. She always did. 

But this was different. It was like one of those moments when you were a child and you couldn’t fall asleep, so you go to the person you love and trust to comfort and help you fall asleep. Or when you have that nightmare and you feel so restless until you jump into that person’s loving arms, falling asleep quickly once you’re with them. A small smile tugged at his lips as his obscured vision became crystal clear.

“I was wrong. I thought I wasn’t ready, but...I - I can’t fall asleep without you Jug,” She admitted.

“I’m gonna...very carefully pull you over towards me,” He warned. Ever so slightly, she tugged the corner of her bottom lip between her peppermint fresh teeth. “Okay,” She flashed her eyes up to his ocean blue ones for a moment.

Slowly, he reached his arms over to the sides of her torso and brought her body over to his. “Are you comfortable enough?” Jughead asked, looking down to her. 

Being slightly bashful, she questioned, “Can I sit in your lap Jug?”

Still having his arms around her, he easily lifted her onto his lap, her legs dangling next to his. He chuckled as he watched her delicate, small body adjust her position on him. “What?” She asked, perplexed.

“I just like watching you,” He simply responded.

“Stalking you mean?” she jokingly accused.

“Not if you chose to be on me” He argued back. Then, Jughead shifted so his back was better supported by the couch, hopefully making Betty more comfy.

“What time is it Betty?” He asked, voice still gruff from his sleepy state.

“One-forty, it’s late.”

“You should have woken me up earlier,” He said, feeling sympathy.

“You looked so peaceful,” She backed herself up.

“But you weren’t sleeping,” He complained. Betty moved her upper body from his warmth, her body hovering in front of his. 

“What? What is it?” He quickly asked, making sure she was feeling okay.

Betty brushed her hands through his flowy hair and started to play with that damn piece that always falls to the front of his head. While twirling his hair between her manicured fingers, she quietly said, “You’re my everything too. I want your face to be the first and last thing I see everyday because I need you...It’s selfish, but I look at your face and I know everything’s gonna be fine. That we’ll survive. It’s us against the world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some super cute fluffy chapters coming up soon!


	26. Terror and Triggers

Betty gasped as she abruptly shot her eyes open, paying attention to the unexpected knocking at her door. Seconds later Jughead quickly woke up, alarmed by Betty practically jumping out of his arms that had been so peacefully resting against her body. “What is it? Did you have a nightmare?” He asked, knowing nightmares were common after trauma. Hell he had nightmares about his father before.

Her heart was racing and she swore she could her the thumping of her heart. Nonetheless, she didn’t have to answer because there was another knock at the door. 

“It’s probably just Veronica,” Jughead assumed as he started to stand up, glancing down to his wrist at his watch, “At eight in the fucking morning, damn.”

He glanced back to notice that his girlfriend was still frozen on the couch, sitting up, hand on her heart, eyes locked at the door. “Betty, it’s not...that guy,” He swallowed, turning to look at her.

“I know...it just  _ s _ cared me,” She blankly stated, not taking her attention off the door. 

His brows furrowed at how much the pounding on the door had not only taken her by surprise, but also affected her ability to draw her eyes from the door. She never got strangers or even drunk party goers knocking on her door. Never, not even once. Without a doubt, it was her friends. Jughead walked back to the couch and softly said, “I promise it’s no one who would hurt you.” He reached his hand out in front of her body. “Come on,” He gestured, stretching his arm out further. Without saying anything, she trusted him and she intertwined her delicate fingers with his. She silently followed behind him, every step moving herself behind him, peering over his shoulder.

He looked through the peephole and a state of confusion came across him. “Veronica and Toni have guests.” Her eyes widened, who else did she know who lived in New York City? “Do you know someone who’s like six feet tall with brown hair who wears turtlenecks in June?” He sighed, definitely not his choice in clothing.

“Kevin?” She asked, astonished, almost mouthing his name. Her voice was still meak, she was very self-conscious.

“Who’s Kevin?” He naturally questioned with a tinge of jealousy obviously in his tone.

“We were really close before I moved,” She said, her other hand not wrapped in his, tapped her chin. There was no way he flew all the way in from Riverdale to see her. The trip would be a couple hours and he sure as hell was busy working with being an investigator. 

“How close?” He prompted, in a rightfully selfish manner. He really had never been the jealous time, but hey there’s a time and place for everything. And there it was again. Proof that he could take her out of any transe with him simply being himself. “Jug,” She lightly chuckled, “Out of us, you’d be his ideal date. Is there some other brunette with him?”

“Yeah, more like my height.” He calmly answered, more relaxed than before, assuming it was Kevin’s loved one.

“Moose, they’ve been together since sophomore year of high school.” She looked up to him and he could tell by the distance she was from the door, that she still wanted him to open the door.

So he did. “Hi?” Kevin said, almost like it was a question. It’s not that he didn’t know Betty was in a relationship. He was well aware because he asked for weekly. He was just taken aback on how protectively positioned he was in front her small body. Although impressed with him, he swallowed hard thinking of how Betty must have suffered to the point where she didn’t want to answer the door. 

“Hi I'm Forsythe, but I go by Jughead,” He introduced himself by firmly shaking first Kevin, then Moose’s hand.

Slightly turning his head crooked, Betty’s small and slim body was revealed. Left hand firmly gripping onto his shirt as she stood still behind him. She didn’t want to appear as rude, but she felt like she wasn’t in control of her body. Everything was fresh in her memory, still being able to hear and feel his heavy breath against her face and neck. She didn’t quite understand it herself, these were two more of her closest friends, yet she couldn’t find the courage to move.

“Hi Betty,” He tenderly said, empathy pouring through his tone as he slowly walked through the door closer to her. She looked so tense. This definitely wasn’t how he had imagined her now in New York.

“Kevin...you...hi. I’m sorry, you must have spent so much money for two last minute tickets,” She said, still in shock. She was flabbergasted. It had been around ten months since the last time they had seen each other face to face and a good two weeks since their last text conversation.

“I still consider you one of my closest friends. Of course I’d come over here for you...Is Forsythe…” He urged her to put some closure on the sudden swarming amount of questions he had for him. He hadn’t guessed that her boyfriend would be over so early in the morning.  _ There’s no way he’s living with her,  _ he thought. That would have been a true shocker. And damn, she had good choice. Jughead’s very good looking.

“Nine months. We don’t have sleepovers, but...desperate times call for desperate measures,” She joked, lightheartedly except it wasn’t funny. It was in spite of herself, hating how weak she was. 

Nonetheless, Kevin could find the light within any situation. He chuckled, “One time Cheryl told me that...How is she, now that you’re working under her?”

“Still…” Betty started.

“An absolute nightmare,” Jughead finished for her. He glanced back to the doorway for a second, Veronica and Toni still waiting outside.

After waiting a couple seconds, Toni muttered, “Jellybean's still at her friends’ house, they’re going to be hanging out all day.” Jughead swiftly nodded and gestured them all over to the before uttering “Come on in.”

Once they sat down, Betty hesitated moving besides the corner and Jughead or Jughead and Moose. Jughead and the edge would make her feel safer which  _ is weird,  _ she thought. Why in the world would she not trust her childhood and teenhood best friend? She felt terrible, but she couldn’t help the security she felt by sitting to just Jughead.

Kevin’s heart broke as he watched Betty’s anxiety pump through her veins, living like a flea; sucking out the hostess’ energy and feeding itself off of it. He hated seeing her like this, but he also knew that what she had gone through was tremendously hard. There was no easy way out of this, but that didn’t stop him from feeling crushed by her heavy emotions. Veronica and Toni hated to watch her like this, but she needed to know that she has a good support system.

She had thankfully changed out of her clothes, she was never gonna wear that outfit again. Now she was covering herself, self esteem low. She had a black campus tee on with a soft pair of gray leggings.

“So...You said nine whole months with Jughead?” Kevin asked, still astonished how she immediately found and stayed with the same man for so long. Though he wasn’t surprised, Betty wasn’t one of those people who have a crush on many people, she always had her eyes focused on one person. She offered a weak smile as she nodded and looked over to her boyfriend who smiled. Moose shifted uncomfortably closer to Kevin so he took Moose’s hand with his own. Betty had always admired how close and comforting Kevin and Moose always were, it’s like they could read each others minds.

“How’s the pain with your bruises?” Toni finally spoke after the small silence that filled the room.

Betty moved her wrists in front of her and scrunched her face at the sudden pain she felt from simply acknowledging that the bruises were in fact present in her life. She swallowed before saying, “A little better since Jug’s been making sure I take the tylenol, but...It really hurts more when I see them.”

As Veronica’s eyes became more glossy, her vision became more obscured. She hated seeing her best friend like this. She had known her best friend for so long and see her go through so many life altering this...But this had to be the worst. “I’m glad...you’re doing better, even if it’s just very small progress,” She choked. It was the first thing she had said to Betty since before she had gone out to get those damn groceries.

Betty looked at Veronica with all the sincerity she could find within her and her brows furrowed, she was trying to withhold herself from crying. “I’m glad too,” Betty’s voice cracked.  _ Recovery’s always a bitch, _ she thought to herself. 

Veronica quickly wiped a tear from her cheek and then spoke again, “We all love you so much Betty.”

“I love you guys too,” Betty replied, attempting to make a smile.

\--------

_ Two days later. Afternoon. _

“Jug look,” Betty called him over to the couch she was sitting on. He had been sitting on the lazy boy that was perpendicular to her.

“What?” He asked, leaning closer to the couch without moving.

“Why didn’t you tell me there was a bunch of articles posted when we started to date?” Shr probed as she handed her laptop over to him. There were around nine tabs opened, each one discussing all the information they could find out between the two.

“I didn’t think you cared,” He simply responded as he went through each tab. He nodded as he quickly skimmed over the tabs Betty had selected for him to read. 

“I didn’t know that with your book there was this much...gossip,” She said as she bit her lower lip, pondering if she’s ever came across those websites before and she had. Buzzfeed had done a small article, Seventeen, as well as Elite Daily. She bet the main focus from all the attention was that Jughead was in fact a young, handsome, and accomplished twenty year old. Not only that, but the book was very popular and appealed to many different age groups.

“I don’t really know why there is, it’s nobody’s business,” He finally said, taking her from her thoughts.

“I think it’s sweet. No one really said anything bad. Honestly some of the people who didn’t like us really weren’t mean about it...the only thing I was surprised by was the photos of it. I mean how did they know where we are?” He handed back the laptop to Betty.

“We’ll never know...Have you thought about Veronica and Kevin’s offer? It might be nice to go outside and hang out while he’s here. After all it was pretty considerate to come here,” He kindly brought up the topic. She hadn’t wanted to go outside because well…

“Jug, I don’t think I’m ready…” Slightly changing the topic, she asked, “Have you always had paparazzi?”

“When my book became New York’s best seller, yes...but why not? We can’t stay in your apartment forever although I love hanging out with you all day.” He directed the conversation back to her friends.

“I just don’t want to go outside today...please just drop it,” She snapped. “I - I’m sorry,” She immediately regretted how harsh she had been.

“It’s okay, nothing about this is supposed to be easy...but I think it would be good if we went outside. We don’t have to go out with everyone, it can just be us.”

He looked to over to her. She wasn’t responding, but she wasn’t saying no. “Where would you like to go Elizabeth Cooper?” He asked.

After a couple seconds, she hesitantly replied, “Bethesda Fountain.”

“Bethesda Fountain?” He repeated.

“You’ve never heard of it? Aren’t you the supposed local?” She asked.

Betty informed him, “It’s a twenty minute drive from here.”

“Why Bethesda Park?” He asked, still confused.

“Because I found the place the day after I moved and I would sit there for hours to calm myself down...for the past year.” She further explained.

“Your safe place and you’ve never taken me?” Jughead asked, eyes widening.

She shrugged it off, “I’ve never taken anyone.”

Reaching his hand out for Betty to place hers with his, he said, “Elizabeth Cooper let’s go to Bethesda Park.”

\--------

“Jug?” Betty questioned her boyfriend as soon as they entered the lobby, starring off to outside the doors.

“We should go out a different way,” He answered.

“Wh - why?”

“Betty it’s paparazzi and I’m a thousand percent sure no one famous lives here.” 

In response she turned her head upwards, eyes filled with worry. “There’s only one freaking door here.”

“Is this about us or…” She stopped talking. It was a combination of both...but who released it to the press?

“It’s only like what...six people? That’s not a lot.”

“They all have cameras and microphones and…” She drifted off, anxiety starting to kick in.

“I didn’t tell you because it was gonna be a surprise, but I also just released another book last week so yeah...paparazzi.”

A faint smile appeared on her face, “You published another one?” Chuckling lightly she pulled him into a hug, “That’s amazing.” Jughead made sure to delicately hold her, his hands gently pressed against her back.

“Are you ready?” He asked, pulling away from their embrace.

“Do - do I answer anything?”

“Depends on what they’re here to talk about,” He answered starting to walk forward. Betty inhaled and exhaled before reaching for his hand to intertwine their fingers. 

When the automatic doors opened, Betty eyes opened in shock at how aggressive the press was, pushing each other around trying to get as close as they could to the apartment doors. It certainly didn’t help that many people were taking flash photos

“Jughead, right here!” One of the people called to which he looked towards them, acknowledging their presence.

“Congratulations on your second book at only twenty-nine, it must be nice to be so accomplished and set on your life at such a young age,” He started. Jughead nodded, he was a very humble person and really didn’t like people's’ definitions of ‘success.’

“And you’ve been with Betty Cooper for…”

“Nine months,” He finished.

“Jughead over here please,” Another called while the flash photos remained being taken of the two, Betty standing behind him.

“Is it true?” The one on the right corner asked. She was a middle-aged woman who was staring Betty straight in the eyes for a little before Betty had broken off eye contact. Betty’s lips pursed at the question and she squeezed Jughead’s hand who immediately looked back to her. He mouth  _ one second  _ to her. She continued to stare into the crowd, but didn’t seem to see anything. She started to feel it get warmer around her. That lady knew.

“Anyone else?” He asked.

“Is it true?” The lady repeated herself. “That was an alleged non-consensual sexual encounter with Betty and the police haven’t found the predator yet?” Jughead could feel Betty’s hand trembling and he started to caress her thumb with his own. Her mouth was slightly agape. How could someone throw out accusations like that and so obviously ask someone such hard questions? She just blankly stared at the lady. “I - I…” She almost inaudibly stuttered.

She pulled him into a side hug, feeling as if she couldn’t walk on her own. She was feeling light headed and because of the flashes she couldn’t see clearly.

“Betty Cooper is it true that you were raped?” That damned lady pried.

At that remark, Jughead turned in shock to the person. How could someone be so heartless? Those aren’t easy questions to throw around. And that horrifying question...it was like admitting the truth. Admitting that yes...a man forced himself onto her in an alley where some deep shit went on. It’s not an easy memory. A tear fled down Betty’s face and she wasn’t even aware that she was starting to cry. She felt like she wasn’t in control of her body. “I’m sorry, we have to get going.” He started to walk to the left with Betty by his side.

“Tell us Betty,” The woman and paparazzi followed them, but she was just staring blankly at Jughead’s hand. Her breathing started to become unsteady and uneven, breaths becoming deliberate.

Thankfully the parking garage was only a couple yards away from the entrance of the apartment complex. As soon as Betty and Jughead turned into the garage, the paparazzi stopped. Well, not completely stopped. They still called after them as Jughead pulled Betty’s somewhat like lifeless body behind him.

And then it hit her. Everything was true. The lady was correct about everything.

Thank god Betty’s parking was in the second row so he could quickly get them into her car and out of camera’s sight. He clicked the keys and as he opened Betty’s door she lost sensation of her legs and fell to the floor. She was starting to hyperventilate. 

“Jug...she’s right...she’s right,” She managed to choke through her sobs.

“Who’s right Betty? Tell me who’s right,” He calmly started, kneeling in front of her.

She found her arms wrapped around his body and herself in his lap within a matter of seconds.

“She’s...She’s right,” Betty kept reiterating.

He hushed her. “It’s okay now, I have you. Everything’s okay now,” He whispered into her ear and held her as gently as he could.


	27. Bethesda Park

There was an tense quietness that grew between the two during the car ride over to central park.

And suddenly in a hushed, almost embarrassed voice, Betty said, “I’m sorry I had an anxiety attack Jughead.” She gave a sad chuckle, “I feel like I’ve had a thousand of those this week.”

He gave her a questionable glance through the rear view mirror, trying not to distract himself from pulling up to the very crowded parking.

“I feel like you’re babysitting me when you should be watching your sister. You’ve slept over like two or three times and I really don’t want to affect your relationship with her. She has school and needs someone to be there for her. I’m twenty-seven now.”

“First off, today’s Monday so it’s only been one day I haven’t driven her to school and god-forbid she has to take the dreaded bus. I know what kind of family she grew up in, she likes to be independent. And it’s also my job to take care of you.” He affirmed while parallel parking.

She didn’t respond, simply nodded and sunk lower into her seat until they headed out for the fountain.

\-------

Jughead slipped his hand from hers as they sat on the ledge of the fountain.

Betty sighed as she listened to the water and took in the scent of the fresh honeysuckle from the ponderosa pine trees. For some reason this place had latched onto her ever since the first time she had visited, the positive connotation being actively present.

Her eyes narrowed as they skimmed around the area. The brunswick sandstone. The encaustic tiles. The granite steps. She breathed it in. It was beautiful. For being built in the late 1850’s, it was breathtaking. “I love you,” Betty murmured under her breath.

“I love you too,” Jughead replied as he draped his arm around her side. With all honesty, she was disappointed that her breathing had hitched when his body came in contact with hers. That’s not what she wanted, however she was still adjusting and it did make her feel safe to know how close their proximity was. 

“Why do you like this place so much?” He inquired, eager to learn more about her newly announced sacred space.

“For my senior trip in college, we had all decided to come to New York because of all the town’s magic it promised. We could all see a future here. Somehow at midnight, I found this place. I was taking a really long walk, taking it all in, mainly because I didn’t think my mom would ever allow me to live here. Lights were lit and this place so peaceful amongst all the chaos of the city. I literally just sat down and envisioned what my life would be like here...Apartment. Work. Writing...At the time, thanks to my mom, I didn’t know a boyfriend would be my favorite part.”

He softly exhaled, in a way that was almost inaudible, in admiration of his girlfriend. The way her eyes lit up with a spark when she talked about something she loved. And how sophisticated she expresses herself when all these ideas came to mind. And how she tilts her head to the left to recall something that had happened. And how her nose would scrunch up ever so slightly when talking about her mother. The little things he had always taken for granite, he took them in like she was with the view.

Damn, wasn’t life weird that way?

“Jug?” She serenely asked when he hadn’t said anything in response.

He slowly licked his bottom lip before beginning to speak. “How am I supposed to reply with anything less than a competent analysis of what you’re saying? I can’t begin to think of what words to use to form merely acceptable sentences right now.” 

Her eyes flashed up in surprise as her lips curved upwards.

He pondered, “For some reason, I still find it hard to open up to you as much as I want to.”

She quirked a brow, probing him to say more.

“The reason I always wear long sleeves and long pants is because I had to hide scars and bruises, that were from my dad, from everyone because I didn’t wanna be called down to guidance or the principal’s. I tried to convince myself that I was independent enough to not ask for help.”

“Our parents suck,” Is all she could think to reply with. Although simple, and in some eyes immature, it was enough.

“No doubt about that. And by trying to help or protect you recently...I realized I just need to say more things.”

“...Okay,” She blonde hesitantly replied.

“The night of...where our lives got even more fucked up, when you balled your fingers into fists and cut into your skin...I felt it. And I know - I know,” He said with hand motions to further recognize how crazy this seems, “This is insane, but my palms started bleeding. So it wasn’t just the feeling, it happened. And I swear the second that happened you sent me your location and I knew something was wrong...because I could feel the pain through our hands.”

He glanced up to notice Betty was no surprised. “Have you ever read those insane soulmate stories where your eyes literally roll to the back of your head at how unbelievable everything sounds? Like where you’re one hundred percent sure it’s made up because there’s no way ink transfers to these two people because there’s just - like...no fucking way? Jughead, what if that’s us? We’re like those people you read about online and no one believes it.”

“That means we might just be soulmates Elizabeth Cooper.” That was it. Right there. Where his voice just sounded so pure and interested that made Betty want to scream how much she loved him. And for the first time without overthinking anything, she leaned closer to Jughead so she could feel his warmth and enthusiasm that he always had with her. Just for her. Just. Reserved. For. Her.

Instead of replying, she nestled her neck up against his arm and exhaled loudly. “I’m proud of us.”

A comfortable silence grew between the two as they watched the people walk back and forth.

“You know you don’t have to dress like that anymore, right? You don’t want them to win like that...I don’t want him to have an impact like that on you.” She encouraged him.

Huh. He had never thought of it like that. “My wardrobe consists of all long sleeves and pants,” He shot down.

“Do you wanna go shopping tomorrow, with Kevin and Moose?” She lilted.

“Two gay guys who obviously have good fashion sense...that sounds nice babe,” He agreed.  _ Damn it. _ She shifted uneasily. It just...that man had made simple names have a unpleasant connotation.  _ “Feelin’ good babe?”  _ What kind of fucked up question was that. How does someone even think it’s somewhat manner like to ask if non consensual fucking touching felt good?” She shivered when recalling, losing his grip around her in the process, as a subconscious tear fell onto her grey campus crew pullover. “God-dammit,” She uttered out of pure frustration of the way PTSD worked.

Her eyes flashed to the warm finger that caught another tear, surprising her that yet again that another blink had been accompanied by a water droplet. Jughead’s hand remained hovering against her cheek, thumb caressing her soft skin. Then he calmly speculated, “Do you wanna talk about it?” 

“No.” She mumbled and shook her head.

“Then we can decide what stores we’ll be hitting up tomorrow...maybe Ralph Lauren, sound good?” He swiftly continued his thoughts to make sure Betty didn’t feel embarrassed.

“That sounds good.”

He had decided to lay his hands flat on the edge, almost to hold himself. Betty inches her hand over to his and lightly places her hand on top of his, her thumb intertwining with his, and says, “They probably have store ideas and recommendations as well, so it might be a long day.”

“That’s fine.”

“I think I’ll have V sleep over tonight so we can at least try to even out our schedules again because I have work tomorrow and I want you to be able to pack Jellybean’s lunch and drive her to school. So after I get off of work, at like 4pm, you guys can all meet me there so we can walk?”

“Okay, I’ll make sure to leave my office by 3:30 so I can walk back, get the boys, and head out your way so this sounds good.” He planned. He wasn’t going to lie, even he was anxious about having her sleep without him being there.. That was a big step, but it wasn’t his decision and he wasn’t going to pretend it was. If she needed him, she’d call him.

“Lemme text her right now actually.” And Betty pulled out her phone, sending a quick message to which she almost instantly got a reply that said how excited Veronica was to hang out with her. “Everything’s good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After taking a two month break from this story, and being able to clear my mind by writing a bunch of shorter au's, I've realized how much I love the TAOW (my story). I feel as if through my past work that I've been pushing out during the summer, I've improved, and I'm finally where I'd like to be so I can really be writing chapters that I'm really proud of. I felt like before when writing I was only watching the word count and writing from the spot, but now I'm focusing on the style and structure which makes me so happy! I of course, love the short stories, so those will not be coming to an end, but I will be continuing this story :) lol sorry for this long paragraph. hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	28. Accompanied Slumber

“I’m literally so excited for our girl’s night!” Veronica squealed when walking into Betty’s apartment while adjusting the pearls that always lay on her neck.

Betty shot her a mildly stern glance to which Veronica rolled her eyes knowingly. “I know, I know! You have work tomorrow and we’re literally going to sleep in twenty minutes. I’m just hype to be able to come over to my girl’s,” She insisted, throwing an arm around Betty who stood still for a moment before sliding out of her arm’s reach. It was just...abrupt. “Sorry B, did I do something?”

“No, no...I - just...nothing V, let’s just change into pajamas okay? I’m really tired.” Of course, her friend obliged and took her vera bradley duffle bag to the bathroom.

Betty walked back to her bedroom. She had already dimmed the lights. Now she just had to sleep on the bed. Simple, lay down and fall asleep. It wasn’t too much. 

Then Betty started to realize, it was the first night in her bedroom. But... _ that’s fine _ . She quickly ruled out that any problems would occur because  _ it  _ didn’t happen in a bedroom. 

“Uh B, you okay?” Veronica had peeked her head through the door. Lost in thought, Betty didn’t respond. “B?”

She snapped out of it. “What? I - I’m good. Don’t worry.” After receiving a doubting glance, she restated, “Seriously, I’m good.”

“Okay then, I have my pj’s on and I’m gonna go on my night time scroll on Instagram, but I swear I’ll be quiet, and then fall asleep. Okay?”

“Sounds good.”  _ Damn is good all I can say?  _

Well, if there was a time to back out, now wasn’t the time. Betty had just unfolded the covers and layed in the bed. And she had company...it just wasn’t Jug

Veronica laid down facing the other side of the room, grabbed her phone, and caught up on all social media she had missed with the past two hours.

The right side Betty was laying on didn’t seem quite as comfortable as she had remembered, so she shifted to the other side, facing Veronica. 

Like she had done every other day, close eyes, think thoughts, fall asleep. Has she never thought this much about sleep before?

After a good ten minutes of going through her feed and explore page, Veronica placed her phone on the night stand and noticed the necklace that Jughead had gotten her was also on the nightstand. After silently observing her best friend miserably fidget around for a couple minutes, she softly said, “B? You awake?”

Betty rolled over to face Veronica, “Is it that obvious?”

“Well, I - I’m sorry if this is I don’t know...I’m rambling, I don’t want to seem annoying is all.”

“Nothing you could say could annoy me Veronica, we’ve been best friends for years.”

“Your necklace that Jughead got you is on the nightstand, and I don’t know if this sounds stupid, but maybe it’d help you fall asleep? You know, like he’s here with you.” She kindly suggested. 

After a second of thinking, a small smile could be made out from the darkness. “That actually sounds really nice, V.”

\--------

_ I laid there...paralyzed. A shadow from the corner caught my eyes as I saw the somewhat familiar shape begin to move closer to me. Ever step he made, I could make out more of his face. Chapped lips. Dark brown eyes. Curly, black hair. It was thick. Bushy eyebrows. The more I recognized his features, the closer he hovered in front of me. His drunken odor breathing down my neck, tingling my skin. His rough hands felt like sandpaper on my skin. “Be a good girl,” He cackled and the laughter that followed seemed to fill the room. It still echoed. He slipped under my sheets with me, leaving his shoes behind. I was stuck; I couldn’t speak, move, or close my eyes. So I continued to lay on my side and watch his hand move to grab my ass. “Miss me babe?” His drunken odor breathing down my neck, tingling my skin. His rough hands felt like sandpaper on my skin. But no matter the strength and force I attempted to use to wrench my eyes shut, I was unable to. Eventually his hand has slipped under my pajama shorts and he began to massage me. “Feeling good?” And for the first time, I felt something. I could feel my heart start to race. I could hear my heavy breathing. Had I just not been able to hear myself? But he interrupted my thoughts, “Why so scared baby doll?” I could feel his heat getting closer as he inched over and with all the energy and effort I could acquire, I was able to jerk my body upwards and within a split second I saw Veronica and not him.  _

Betty woke up panting in a cold sweat. Glancing around she began to shakily breathe, she confirmed Veronica was her only guest over. Leaning her left hand on the bed, she took in the silence. Damn from her practically moving the bed and breathing as loudly as she could ever remember, Veronica was still sleeping.

She felt her stomach do a somersault and she felt her chest tighten. She quickly ran to her bathroom and slammed the door behind her.  _ Not another fucking panic attack.  _

Betty rested her back against the bathroom sink vanity and tilted her head upwards, staring at the wall. She tried to even out her breaths, but it felt impossible.  _ Why is he always with me?  _ It felt like every second of every day he was in the back of her mind, or like quite recently, literally haunting her. She could hear her heart thudding and there was an unbearable throbbing in her head. When Betty brought her hand to her heart, in attempt to calm herself down, she shakiness of her hand startled her. 

She let out a muffled sob. She wished she could just forget that night ever happened. She hated having PTSD. She hated constantly having anxiety attacks around her friends. She hated every single part about it.

But all these uncontrollable poignant thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she heard Veronica’s voice coming from behind the door.

“B...Is everything okay?” She drawled out her words.

Betty brought herself to stand up again and cleared her throat from crying. “Uh, yeah V. I’m fine, just washing my face.” When Betty spoke, her voice faltered. She knew Veronica wasn’t buying it, but thankfully she was gonna let this one go. Betty turned the faucet on and splashed her face with cold water.

“Okay, well I’m gonna make us breakfast.”

“Sounds good,” Betty softly replied. After Veronica had walked away, she felt relieved. She hated all the babying she was getting because of the incident, she didn’t want all the sympathy. Betty grabbed a soft hand towel and padded her face to dry it off. While blinking, a couple last tears streamed down her face. Glancing in the mirror, she wiped away the few tears that had fell down her face.

Walking back to her bedroom, Betty fidgeted with her necklace from Jughead. If she were being honest, she really missed him last night. She went through her closet to find a sweater from Aerie and leggings from PINK, that seemed comfortable enough. Without a doubt, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. While brushing her hair, she looked into the mirror of the vanity; her eyes still looked glossy.

On the corner of the vanity, laid her phone. She glanced over when she heard it buzz.

**Cheryl :** _ Just a reminder you have to be here at 9:00, you have a student coming. _

“You have got to be kidding me,” Betty groaned. She assumed the text was inferring Cheryl’s anger about the sudden five day leave. Glancing at the time, she read it was 8:37 a.m., she had to leave soon anyways.

Grabbing her purse, she slid her phone into it and walked out to the kitchen where Veronica was kind enough to be packing her breakfast and lunch. “Thank you so much Veronica, you’re literally a dream. Are you going to Toni’s?”

After handing Betty her pink swirl Vera Bradley lunch box, she said, “Yep, I’m out with you.”

\--------

Betty was filling out some paperwork that she had missed from last week when she heard the familiar sound of clacking heels. A silhouette filled the door frame, red heels and hair no doubt. “Getaway weekend turned into a week with your beloved?” She asked. Why did she seem...genuine?

Betty debated to herself whether she was going to question her kindness, but then concluded that her comment could throw her out of this “nice” act she was playing. “No...uh actually…” She glanced around the room, while placing a stray piece of hair back behind her ear, almost as if she were looking for an answer that didn’t sound as dark as the truth. “There was a...I-” She gave a sad chuckle. “Sorry.”

For some reason Cheryl walked closer to Betty and pulled up a chair to sit next to her. “I suppose I deserve this for treating you like shit for the past like year and a half. You don’t have to trust me Betty, but I hope one day you can forgive me...And maybe consider me a friend. You never deserved all my petty bullshit because you went through just as much as I did…” She paused and with a sincere look in her eyes, placed her hand onto Betty’s. “I’m so incredibly sorry for everything I’ve ever done to you.”

And then, Cheryl sniffled. As if she was actually upset. Did she actually have feelings? “Cheryl, are you okay?”

“I’ve been wanting to apologize to you for ten years, but somehow I became this cold-hearted bitch to you...and I hate that anyone thinks I’m this cruel, emotionless persona. I know, trust me I know it’s my fault, but I can’t even pretend to hate you when I’m envious of everything you have.”

“Cheryl, of course I forgive you. I knew what strategy you were using, you became closed off when it all happened and bullying was the only way you could cope with your feelings.” Betty reassuringly squeezed her hand, “I know you’re not a terrible person, Cheryl. I just find it weird we’re having this conversation now.”

“I know, it’s super weird. You’d think I was able to act like an adult years ago…” While Cheryl paused, Betty’s phone began to buzz. Lifting the phone from the table, she read.

**Jughead:** _ We’re waiting in the lobby, take your time. _

“I’m sorry to cut this conversation short, but Jughead’s here...and Moose and Kevin so I need to go.” Both smiled and said their goodbye’s.

When Betty greeted the men, her eyes widened and her mouth was slightly agape. “Guys, Cheryl and I just had the weirdest conversation.”

“Isn’t she still like the same bitch from high school?” Kevin asked as they all walked out of the doors.

Sliding an arm around her shoulders, Jughead asked. “What did she say?”

Looking up to his blue eyes, skeptically she said, “She was sorry. For literally everything, the whole high school bullying and all the demeaning comments that started the second I worked here. Like everything, Jughead.”

“Impressive.” He commented making her lightly chuckle.

“Is Toni out with Sweet Pea?” Betty asked. Now that she actually mentioned it, that was a good question. She hadn’t been the most responsive within the past two days which was odd for them. On top of that, she hadn’t stopped by recently.

Jughead glanced down, surprised she hadn’t heard. “Uh, I don’t know if I’m the right person to tell you this, like if I’m breaking one of your girl codes...but Toni and Sweet Pea broke up two days ago.”

“Oh...Oh my god!” Betty gasped. “Oh my god, I wasn’t there for her and she didn’t tell me!”

“Betty, I’m sure Toni was going to tell you, she probably wanted some space from everybody.” Kevin chimed in. 

“Please Kevin, when you go through a break up obviously Netflix and Ice cream are nice, but everybody knows you need your best friend! Jug, weren’t they together for a couple years? They were really serious...I wonder what could have split them apart.”

\--------

Moose and Kevin were practically frolicking around the Ralph Lauren in attempt to find the best possible outfit combinations for Jughead. Betty and Jughead watched in amusement as the two debated what fabrics and patterns were the best.

With his arm still slung around Betty’s shoulder, he halted their stroll. When she looked up in confusion, she was greeted with concern. “Betty...everything was fine last night?”

She stuttered. “Why - why would you - did Veronica say something to you?”

“No, should she have said something to me?”

“No, everything was fine.” She affirmed.

“I just...at least for me, it oddly felt weird not falling asleep next to you...even though we rarely have ‘sleepovers.’ I don’t mean to poke and prod you constantly, t’s just when I was younger and dealing with my dad a lot of abuse happened. I had nightmare after nightmare and because of my age, I didn’t even think about it being PTSD. I don’t know, I just...it was a common symptom for me at least.”

She quickly glanced away from the intensity of the gaze he was giving her right now. She knew he knew. He could read her like a damn book. She cleared her suddenly dry throat, “Yeah, uh no. I just had a little trouble falling asleep, but I’m sure it’s just because my sleeping schedule is still a little off. Really, it was nothing.” She emphasized the last sentence by shaking her head. 

He took a long pause before speaking. “Okay.” His voice was in the soft, low voice of his that he did when he really cared about something. “Just...let me know if something happens because I’m always here for you. Always. There’s nothing you should feel you have to keep from me.” She swallowed and nodded. Of course she knew that. Of course she did. There was an uneasy silence that grew between the pair before Kevin and Moose appeared in front of them with about twenty outfit choices, awaiting the changing rooms.

Nearly an hour later, Jughead came out of the fitting room with ten outfits he was planning on purchasing.

While walking out towards the cash register, Jughead proposed, “Hey, why don’t we head to my house after and watch Netflix.”

“Oh, yes please! Can we watch Grey’s Anatomy?” Kevin asked. Moose chuckled, clearly not surprised by his suggestion.

“Never watched, but sure.” He replied.

Betty’s eyes widened as well as Kevin's. “Wait, you’ve never watched Grey’s?!” Betty’s asked, shocked. “Kevin and I spent every weekend of our sophomore, junior, and senior year binge watching Grey’s. You know, we even made a pact we couldn’t watch the episodes until the weekends even if there was a new season airing on TV.”

“Hi, how are you doing to - oh my god, are you F Jones?” Moose and Kevin glanced up in confusion for a second, ending their mini conversation, confused at first.

Jughead’s face immediately blushed, slightly embarrassed by being recognized in front of his friends. He was way too modest about his success. “Yeah, I am.”

“Can you like…” Glancing back, the cashier grabbed a sharpie and pulled out her phone from her back pocket of her pants. “Sign my phone case, you’re like my favorite author. Oh, my name is Bridget.”

“Sure,” He quietly agreed, grabbing and taking the cap off of the sharpie. He tried to sign the top right corner, in attempt to not ruin the case.

“Thank you so much, I...I can talk to my manager and get all this stuff for free for you. She also loves your books. We were literally just talking about your most recent,  _ Merciful Life _ . It was an amazing book.”

Betty couldn’t help feel the slightest tinge of jealousy go through her, although she knew Jughead wasn’t attracted to her. She was a young blonde with curly hair and blue eyes. She dressed very nice. Different than Betty at the current moment, who refused to wear any revealing clothes or any clothes that were less than leggings and a sweatshirt, for that matter. She hadn’t ever gushed to Jughead how much she loved his books, although she did love them. Maybe, she should have? He didn’t really like the attention though. 

“No, no that’s okay. I can pay.” 

She questioned, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it’s completely fine.” He insisted, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

\--------

Grabbing the remote, Jughead paused Netflix. “Why is this show so wildly inappropriate?” Stealing the remote back to continue the show, Betty giggled, “Don’t judge. Meredith and Derek are the best. Well at least, until…”

“Don’t spoil it!” Kevin shouted.

“Kev, it’s eleven. No screaming because Jellybean’s sleeping.”

“Right, sorry I forgot.”

Jughead glanced down to Betty as he felt her body lean against his. Her eyes were already closed and he knew she had to be exhausted. He kissed her forehead and adjusted himself on the couch so she could be more comfortable. His eyes softened as he thought about everything she was going through. He knew she wasn't telling him everything. He wished she felt she could, but...at least he could lay here with her, if that gave her any sense of security. 

Eventually, Kevin and Moose headed over to Toni’s and the couple fell asleep on the couch.


	29. Restarting and Resolution

To say the least, Betty had slept amazingly. No nightmares, no anxiety attacks, and no exhaustion after she had fallen asleep in Jughead’s arms on her couch. As she groggily opened her eyes, she let out a small smile, seeing that Jughead was still securely spooning her. She had missed this. Them cuddling was definitely a factor that had been missing in their relationship as of recently. Betty grabbed her phone from the coffee table and checked the time. 8:45 am. Early. She had work from eleven to three today and Kevin and Moose’s trip to Riverdale was finally coming to an end. 

Feeling more relaxed than she had within the past two weeks, she slipped out of Jughead’s warm body and stumbled over towards the kitchen. Perfect, she had eggs, toast, and bacon. As was planning out the rest of breakfast, while watching the bacon cook, Toni walked into her apartment, “Glad to see you slept well, Betty.” “Hmmm,” She chimed as she grabbed a pan from one of the cabinets. “I’m assuming you could smell the bacon.” She guiltily chuckled before he face fell to a more solitude manor. Betty immediately noticed her mascara stains. “Also heard this crazy rumor…”  Glancing at Toni who guiltily looked back to her. “...That you and Sweet Pea broke up three days ago, after being together for four years. Why didn’t you tell me? Toni sadly chuckled, “I loved him Betty and I hate that I hurt him.” Betty interrupted her, “Wait, hurt him? I know you must be crushed!” Toni glanced up to Betty, giving her a ‘I have gossip’ look. Betty eagerly nodded, probing her to speak. “I really did love him. I loved Sweet Pea. But...I had to convince myself I loved him after Cheryl. You know, after a big breakup, it’s hard to realize you love someone again. And I think I convinced myself so well I truly believed I loved him more than her, but I don’t think I did. Cheryl called me three days ago.” Betty’s eyes were widened, completely shocked of all this information she recently received. “What did she say to you?!” Betty asked. “She said she still loved me, after all these years. She told how much she missed me. She basically said that if I had any feelings at all, this was my chance because she wasn’t going to call me ever again. And I didn’t think I had feelings, but when my mouth opened I said yes and tears were rolling down my face. Things were great with Sweet Pea, but I had to realize how much I was missing.” Betty’s jaw was dropping. “Holy shit, you’ve always loved Cheryl.”

She quickly took the pan of bacon from under the stove. “What did you tell Sweet Pea?” A tear slid down her cheek. “I apologized to him for not realizing it beforehand. He didn’t take it too well, but thankfully he’s a decent man who was smart enough not to put his hands on me.” She quickly glanced up to see Betty’s reaction, forgetting what had happened to her for just a split second. “Sorry, god, I’m clearly not doing well today. “No, it’s okay. I don’t want you to walk on eggshells around me.” Toni nodded, “So my life’s an actual mess. Can I go sit on your recliner and stare at the wall for like all of eternity?” Betty softly chuckled, “Go for it, but don’t wake Jug. He’s sleeping on the couch. But uh, are Kevin and Moose up yet?” Toni shook her head no. “Okay, we can wake them when I’m done cooking.”

Once Betty had placed all the five plates out with even proportions of toast, bacon, and eggs, she leaned against the kitchen counter. She could feel the pain of the bruises on her forearms from all the lifting she had been doing with the food.

Ignoring that, she walked next door to Toni’s apartment to go wake up Moose and Kevin. As she opened the door, she walked in on what seemed to be an intimate kiss the two were sharing, so she immediately turned the other way. “Sorry, uhm breakfast is ready at my place so you guys can come over.” Kevin laughed, it felt like high school all over again. “You can turn around, we’re fully clothed and I want you to be proud of the fact that I really did only bring one suitcase over to New York.” She turned around, her face blushed with slight embarrassment. “Oh, I am so proud of you. Usually, you would have brought four, I can tell Moose had to help you on that.” Moose chuckled, “Definitely, it was so hard convincing him what not to bring that he had already packed.” Moose and and Kevin walked over with Betty to her apartment. Jughead greeted them at the door, sleepiness being obvious. “Morning,” He mumbled before sitting down next to Betty at the dinner table. 

“We have to get you two to the airport in 45 minutes, so we have twenty minutes to eat and then twenty-five minutes to drive you down. And from there, I can drop everyone off at work. So that’s the game plan. And thank you guys for being so cooperative and staying with Toni.”

“Of course Betty! It has been so nice staying at Toni’s, I swear, I feel like Moose and I have known her for like forever.” Toni chuckled and nodded in agreement. “But I need to know before we leave, when are you gonna talk to Cheryl again because you called her and made this epid decision. I have to see my ship sail before I leave.”

“I think we’re gonna go to Starbucks and talk.” Moose chuckled, “Just save the trouble and have her come over to your house.” Toni sarcastically rolled her eyes. “Wait!” Betty realized. “That’s why Cheryl apologized to me.” She shook her head, “Bitch,” Glanced to Toni, “Sorry. She’s not actually a bitch...all the time. Whatever makes you happy Toni.” Jughead tried not to laugh, but he wasn’t successful.

\--------

“Good morning, Betty. Coffee?” Cheryl kindly offered what seemed to be an already made coffee in her hand. “Uh, sure. Thanks.” Betty responded as she looked up to Cheryl. No doubt Toni had called her, that’s for sure. She was wearing a beautiful red, bodycon dress that had a teasing back slit and round neck cut. It was a sheath dress from Modlily. If that wasn’t enough, Cheryl had somehow managed to find a matching pair of red heels that were at least least inches tall. It has some peppermint in it, since it’s November. Betty’s eyes widened, she hadn’t been keeping track of the days apparently. “It’s November, already?” Cheryl smiled, “Yep, November fourth to be specific. It’s kind of weird since it’s not as cold as it was last year, but we still have time for it to get chilly.”

“It’s just been a really weird two weeks. I’ve been trying to catch up on everything I missed, but everything’s just a little overwhelming right now.” She nodded, “I totally understand. My week has been a mess too. It’s just a lot of - ” Cheryl stopped talking as she glanced to who had just knocked on the door. “It’s Kathryn, I’ll let you go. Bye, Betty.”  Betty said her goodbyes, but in the back of her head she still felt confused about whatever friendship they were starting.

\--------

Betty slung her pink swirl double zip hipster bag around her waist. It was 7pm. “Alright Cheryl, I’m out. I’ll see you around?” She offered. “...Yeah, see you.” Cheryl hesitantly answered, clearly distracted. She was sitting in her office chair, mindlessly staring out the window, watching the cars and taxis pass the streets. “Cheryl, I know we’re not close...mainly because you hated me for a decade, but I’m trying to move past that for my best friend because Toni is in love with you. You don’t have to worry. She’s still trying to sort things out and she feels extremely guilty right now, but she feels that way because she realized how much she loves you. Seriously, you don’t have to worry about tonight.” Cheryl looked up to Betty and gave a soft, yet genuine smile. “Thank you.” Betty nodded, “Yeah, good luck with tonight.” She said before walking down the staircase.

She was walking right up towards the revolving doors when she froze. She had walked down this street before alone and it didn’t end well. But she forced her legs forward and walked outside. The brisk wind that greeted Betty’s face, sending a shiver down her spine. She slid her phone from her pocket and read her most recent text.

**Jug** :

Cooking dinner for Jellybean. There’s going to be extra food and I’d love for you to come over and relax after work. LMK

She groaned to herself, she couldn’t bother him. She had already dialed Toni’s number, before realizing she was going out with Cheryl. “Hey Betty, what’s up?” Betty stuttered, “Well I - I was...sorry I know you have plans to go out with Cheryl. Sorry.” Toni responded, “Betty, what is it? Cheryl can wait, what is it? Are you okay? Is everything okay? Where are you?” Blankly, she responded, “I’m at work, everything’s okay. You have to go out tonight. I was gonna ask for a ride, but it’s okay because I can walk.” Instantly, Toni realized she was having PTSD. “No, Betty, it’s fine. If I pick you up, I’ll still have forty-five minutes to finish getting ready. I can leave right now and be there in - ” “ - No! Toni, you don’t need to get all protective with me. I am fine. I will get a ride.” Toni sighed, “Betty, Veronica is free. Archie is free. Jughead would pick you up in a second. I’m not gonna tell you how to live your life, just...do whatever you feel comfortable with, okay?” “Yeah, okay. Bye Toni.”

Great...because that clearly went so well. While trying to set up an Uber, she received a text from Veronica. Great.

**Veronica** :

Hey girl! Where are you because I’ve been dying to see you?! Wanna hang?

She responded with a simple ‘Busy’ and rolled her eyes. Toni sure got word out quick. Within ten minutes, her Uber pulled up. Verifying, Betty checked the license plate with the one on her phone. They matched. She took a screenshot of the license plate, just in case. “Robert Morris?” She quietly asked while opening the back door and sitting down. She placed her bag on the middle seat, left hand firmly resting onto the strap. Ubers had always made her anxious, though she blamed that on her addiction to watching Mr. Nightmare on youtube. She didn’t look up to him after confirming his name, she could see him nod from the front seat. He turned on the radio,  _ No tears left to cry.  _ She chuckled, she wasn’t the biggest fan of Ariana Grande, but all of her friends forced her to listen to Ariana’s music. Figures that music would be playing. 

She began scrolling through Instagram, nothing interesting...besides the comments flooding her posts about the whole paparazzi incident. Then she came across Jughead’s instagram and smiled. He had posted a picture of her at Bethesda Park, it must have been when she wasn’t paying attention and thinking off into space because she wasn’t looking at the camera and had her ‘thinking face’ as Jughead called it on. She was leaning back, arms holding her firmly. She pitied herself when she noticed the almost non-visible bruising on her shoulder that was peeking out from her sweatshirt. Of course the sweatshirt had to have fallen to her shoulder and Jughead had caught that very raw moment. He captioned it  _ I admire your strength, my love.  _ Time and time again, she was reminded of how her heart melted every single time Jughead did anything.

“Coming home from work?” The driver asked. Except...his voice was deep. And familiar. She glanced up to the rear view mirror, where he was glancing back towards her and her stomach had dropped more than ever before. He had dark brown eyes, curly black hair, and thick brows. This wasn’t just resemblance of him...it was him. He was white, heavy in weight, and she could confirm his height by looking down to the pedals...but she couldn’t look down. Or up for that matter. She was stuck looking at him through the mirror, unable to move. “Do I know you, Doll?” Oh, god.  _ Doll.  _ “You look awfully familiar. Have you ever been to the bar on 42nd?” After seeing her face go cold and her struggling to form words, he asked, “Everything okay, Sweetheart?” Her breathing hitched, trying to calm herself down. He clearly couldn’t recall every detail about that night. The wallet! Jughead had grabbed the wallet he had forgotten that night. With everything going on that night, they had forgot to bring it to the police. If she could get the wallet and still have record of the license plate number, she solved it. She was going to solve her own sexual harassment case. Betty couldn’t feel her own body except for his filthy hands riding up her thighs. She was confused by the sensation of wet warmth she felt on her right cheek, before realizing it was her own tears. She quickly wiped her tear away and broke eye contact. “You seem like a good girl, are you just not feeling good today?” Oh my fucking god, his word choice. _ Doll. Sweetheart. Feeling Good.  _ Choking on her words, she quietly murmured something she couldn’t even recall. By the time they had reached Jughead’s apartment, she couldn’t tell if this had really happened. She slammed the car door opened and walked as quickly as she could to Jughead’s room.

Bursting the door opened, she saw Jughead and Jellybean talking and eating away at salad before they glanced up to her. “Where are your keys?” She asked, almost inaudibly. “What?” Jughead chuckled, surprising by her quiet manner. “Your keys.” Quirking his eyebrow, he grabbed them from the dinner table and tossed them to her before Betty walked straight down the hallway. She had even left the door open. “I’ll be right back Jellybean,” He stated before heading down to the parking lot. He found her, trying to quiet her own cries, head down on the back seat and body leaning on the parking lot floor. “Betty,” He hesitantly said, kneeling down to where she was, almost afraid to touch her. She felt like a porcelain doll, ready to break the second someone touched her too hard or let her fall. And she hated that. She was crying from pain and frustration with herself. “His name is Robert Morris,” She mewled. “Who? Who is Robert Morris?” Detaching herself from the seat, leaving tear stains behind, she handed him the opened wallet. “It’s him. I thought it might have been a fake ID he used to get more alcohol after he had enough, but it matches up with his license plate.” “Wait, how do you know his license plate number?” Avoiding looking back to him, she looked to the other side of the car. “He’s a uber driver. And according to google, he’s a former rapist. In 2008, he raped two innocent high schoolers without being intoxicated. In 2012, a twenty-two year old walking home from college, this time drunk…” He empathetically whispered, “Oh my god.” Still breathing unevenly, she whimpered, “We have a case. Against Robert Morris. It’s over.” She turned around to Jughead and almost tackled him, throwing her arms around him tightly and sinking her head into the crook of his neck. “It’s over. It’s finally over.” She hung onto him for dear life because she knew he was one of the only reasons she felt strength to get out of this situation. He was her strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, I wasn't gonna make this angsty, but as I was writing I felt as if Betty's story wasn't over on her sexual harasser. I wanted to tie in her Nancy Drew moments as a way to set herself free from everything that's been overwhelming her. I'm excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas with Betty and Jughead as well as the development of Choni. Hope you guys enjoy and are still excited out TAOW as I am since I've been less active with this story!


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